India

Agnideb Bandyopadhyay
Freelance cricket writer

Image source, Getty Images

When the India Premier league was announced in 2007 the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) bet on the pace of the format and the untapped potential that the marriage of entertainment and cricket had in India.

A summer schedule and games being aired on entertainment networks around prime-time slots outside sports channels, pitched the league as a family-entertainer, altering viewership patterns for the sport in India.

Watching cricket was suddenly a daily activity across ages. With the IPL, cricket had a theatrical allure - packed in a three-hour package.

The league rode on the back of a digital transformation in India, which further amplified viewership and reach.

Affordable internet plans and arrival of streaming facilitated IPL's seamless journey into people's phones, making it easier for people to catch it on the move.

It has evolved into a unique product which sells success stories and narratives for posterity to a country where most kids, at some point, aspire to pursue cricket professionally.

The rags-to-riches stories drive the aspiration of pursuing cricket backed by the kind of money that the IPL can offer young cricketers hailing from lesser-privileged communities.

Experts believe that the IPL's primary merit has been facilitating a gradual transition from an obsession with foreign names to a population proud of its homegrown talents.

Joy Bhattacharya, cricket pundit and former team director of Kolkata Knight Riders, says: "The platform helps them [parents of young children] associate, dream, hope and get closer to the stars - in cricket and entertainment."

Image source, BBC Sport/Getty Images

With the success, the value of the tournament has soared from a $2 billion valuation in 2008 - its first season - to $12 billion in 2024.

Despite its comparatively short duration - 65 days in 2024 - compared to other major sporting leagues across the world, what makes the IPL such a consistently growing brand?

The 10 franchises, each representing a major Indian city or a state have ventured into other international T20 leagues stretching individual brand identities beyond India and increasing IPL's impact on the global cricketing ecosystem.

In a primarily sponsorship driven market, the IPL's duration promises a definite yet intense stretch for sponsors and strategic partnerships, which drive the major share of IPL's revenue.

Bhattacharya says the IPL is a "singular advertising phenomenon with the national focus completely concentrated on it".

Image source, BBC Sport/Getty Images

Agnideb Bandyopadhyay
Freelance cricket writer

Image source, Getty Images

Fantasy team apps have allowed a considerable cross-section of people to find a sense of regularity, the opportunity to strategise and the prospect of a return - and bragging rights over friends, family members and colleagues of course.

The IPL is no different in that regard with the app particularly effective in reaching lower-middle and lower income communities.

On the opening day of the 2024 tournament Dream 11 reported, external 1.1m new users and 15.01m concurrent users.

Brands that are associated with the fantasy apps have also invested significantly in securing primary sponsorship deals with most franchises, making them synonymous with the IPL months.

These legalised platforms have managed to attract people across age groups with major stars endorsing the apps, and the promise of prizes as high as $350,000 (approx £260,000) on every match against affordable and nominal entry fees.

Recently, India ODI captain Rohit Sharma, who represents Mumbai Indians in the IPL, gifted his own luxury car to a winner of a contest organised by one of the major fantasy team apps in India.

That allows fans like Nasir Sheikh to get closer to the game and the stars, and be part of something where every success story feels personal.

It is an annual festival, an accessible dream, with Nasir's work barely paying enough to put food on the table but nothing will get in the way of him following his beloved IPL.

He checks score updates on free wifi or sneaks a peek at a fellow passengers screen to catch some of the action.

Failing that, he signs up for five-minute free trials for the platforms streaming to watch snippets of the matches.