IPL T20 cricket appears to be hot property

NEW DELHI: There may be no takers for the men in blue, but Indian Premier League (IPL) T20 cricket appears to be hot property. The T20 IPL, valued at $1.65 billon and called the hottest sports league by international magazines, may have two seasons in a year, the other in an overseas location, says IPL Chairman and Commissioner Lalit Modi in an interview with ET.

Modi says IPL being forced to move to South Africa earlier this year helped turn into a global brand faster than he had planned. “The move to South Africa made us sit up and take note of additional revenue generation streams from international markets,” he says.

Elaborating on the league’s global prospects, he says: “There is the option of taking the IPL international through a possible second season in a calendar year. Already the IPL broadcast footprint covers key cricketing markets including India and this footprint will only grow in the years ahead. So we really do have myriad options to grow the global popularity of the league in the years to come.”

Though the recent Champions League got rock-bottom ratings, Modi says it was broadcast by ESPN in over 160 territories in 11 languages, and that the ratings were ‘not as bad as they were made out to be’.

Putting to rest speculation that the league could float an IPO in the future, Modi says there are no such plans. “As far as the BCCI and IPL are concerned, we simply do not need the funds. The IPL is a BCCI League and will continue to be one,” he says.

IPL broadcaster Sony Entertainment has signed sponsors like telecom operator Vodafone and consumer durables maker Videocon as presenting sponsors, while PepsiCo, LG Electronics India, Hyundai and Samsung are associate sponsors, for IPL season 3.