IPL not the money-spinner teams hoped for

Contrary to popular perception, Indian Premier League teams may face another loss making year from the second IPL season in South Africa. What confuses matters is that three months after IPL II, no one is clear about how much money has actually been spent. Kadambari Murali Wade reports.

Contrary to popular perception, Indian Premier League (IPL) teams may face another loss making year from the second IPL season in South Africa.

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“We’re hoping to break even, but I don’t think that’ll happen,” a top franchisee official told HT.

Three other franchises agreed. As things stand, they were looking at a Rs 10-20 crore loss each, they said.

What confuses matters is that three months after IPL II, no one is clear about how much money has actually been spent. But IPL commissioner Lalit Modi was unperturbed. “It’s too soon. Unless we give them the numbers, how can they say they have incurred losses?”

But teams say they don’t see how the IPL will compensate them for losses from gate sales, for a start. Gate sales in South Africa were a small fraction of what they would have been had the matches been played in India, as tickets were kept cheap to attract South Africans. Delhi and Mumbai reportedly made about Rs 20 crore from gate sales during the first season.

What gives them hope though is the IPL’s new TV rights deal, signed in March. If the TV earnings are substantially higher than last year – when each team earned between Rs 26-32 crore — the teams might still salvage a profit.