India Vs Pakistan World Cup
We have all begun preparation for Saturday afternoon’s most hyped event, yes you guessed it right. We are talking about the India Vs Pakistan World Cup match. According to some reports, the resale of tickets has seen sky-high prices. As per an article in Business Standard “a 32-year-old Mumbai native, who now works at a fintech company, in August bought a 2,500-rupee ($30) ticket for Saturday’s match. After a change of plans, he decided to resell the ticket on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter, scoring 22,000 rupees for it.”
This might let us think that the cricket governing body must have earned the majority of its combined revenue of Rs 27,411 crore over the past five fiscal years (FY18-FY22) through ticket sales. But that doesn’t even come in the top 5 sources of their revenue.
The business model of BCCI has made it the richest cricket governing board out of all the cricket-playing regions in the world and is one of the major boards of cricket, alongside the England and Wales Cricket Board and Cricket Australia. So, it obviously made us curious about what makes BCCI swim in cash. Here are the Top revenue sources of BCCI
- Media Rights
One of the massive sources of income for the BCCI is through their broadcasting media rights. The board grants the media broadcasting rights of the matches that feature the Indian cricket team to the networks for a huge sum of money. The advertisers of different marketing agencies know this to be the best time to showcase their advertisements to a large, worldwide audience. This makes each and every broadcast of the game very valuable, thus the BCCI charges a lot of money for the media rights to broadcast the games.
- Title Sponsorship
The second spot on the topic of how BCCI earns money is the title sponsorship. One of the biggest spots for advertisement is surely attaching the company’s name to one of the biggest cricket championship titles in the country. Yes, the spot of title sponsorship is a massive source of income for the BCCI in recent years. The company that sponsors the title of a cricket event, receives the most exposure, meaning more space for advertisement, a bigger logo, an enhanced time slot, the name and logo of the company over the trophy area, and a lot more. To achieve this spot, which is a golden opportunity for companies in terms of advertisement, they have to pay a huge sum of money to the BCCI.
- Team Sponsorship
Another huge contribution to the revenue model of the BCCI is through their official team sponsorship. Remember the Sahara logo at the center of the Indian national cricket team, worn by legendary players while representing the country on the international stage of cricket? Imagine the amount of publicity and marketing benefit it does for the company. Hence being able to sponsor that is another golden opportunity for these types of companies, eventually paying a huge sum of money to the BCCI for its rights.
- Official Kit Sponsors
The company that sponsors the official kit of the team has to pay a massive amount to the BCCI for their logo placement on the jersey. Nike was the previous kit sponsor for the team and had to pay about 12.13 Million USD to the board each year. In the five-year deal, Nike had to pay nearly 60.6 Million USD at the end of the term to the BCCI. The contract ended with Nike back in 2020 and since then, MPL has taken the charge of the official kit sponsors for the Indian cricket team, paying the base price of INR 65 lakhs per match and a total of INR 3 crore each year as the official merchandise partner. Thus, in the question of how BCCI earns money, you can check kit sponsorship on the list as a major part of it.
- Revenue Earned via Bilateral Series
The ICC or the International Cricket Council is responsible for hosting various international cricket series between the cricket-playing countries. You have definitely heard about the India Tour of Australia, or the New Zealand Tour of India, etc. where a large amount of revenue is collected by the cricket boards of the participating countries. Similarly, whenever team India plays a bilateral series with a country, the BCCI get a part of the revenue earned from the events. The BCCI is among the big three cricket boards in the world, and due to their huge associated viewership of millions of Indian cricket fans, they earn a major share. Just accounting for the 2019-20 cricket series, the BCCI had earned around INR 950 crores in revenue.
- Revenues from the Indian Premier League
Coming at the sixth spot on the topic of how does BCCI earn money, is the contribution of the IPL. The Indian Premier League is the biggest domestic T20 cricket tournament in the whole world. The IPL is one of the most attended, marketable and viewed sports events in the whole world. So it is natural for the BCCI-created IPL to generate massive amounts of revenue for the board throughout the years. Apart from title sponsorship, tournament sponsorship, media rights and the other previously mentioned sources of the tournament gaining money, there are a lot more things that produce revenue for the BCCI through IPL. Like other forms of advertisement throughout the events, stadium tickets, percentage of earnings from the franchises, and other things. All of these come into the massive picture of the total revenue earned by the BCCI through just their IPL brand.
We are all gearing up for the highly anticipated event on Saturday afternoon – the India Vs Pakistan World Cup match. Reports suggest that ticket resale prices have skyrocketed. According to an article in Business Standard, a 32-year-old Mumbai resident, who now works at a fintech company, purchased a 2,500-rupee ($30) ticket for the match in August. However, due to a change of plans, he decided to resell the ticket on X (formerly known as Twitter) and managed to sell it for 22,000 rupees.
Surprising Revenue Sources for BCCI
One might assume that ticket sales contribute significantly to the cricket governing body’s revenue, considering the exorbitant prices. However, ticket sales do not even rank among the top five sources of revenue for the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI).
The BCCI’s business model has made it the wealthiest cricket governing board globally, alongside the England and Wales Cricket Board and Cricket Australia. Naturally, this piques our curiosity about what enables the BCCI to amass such wealth. Let’s explore the top revenue sources of the BCCI:
- Media Rights: One of the primary sources of income for the BCCI is the sale of broadcasting media rights. The board grants networks the rights to broadcast matches featuring the Indian cricket team for a substantial sum of money. Advertisers from various marketing agencies recognize this as an opportune moment to showcase their advertisements to a vast global audience. Consequently, each broadcast of the game becomes highly valuable, allowing the BCCI to charge a significant amount for media rights.
- Title Sponsorship: Another major source of income for the BCCI is title sponsorship. Attaching a company’s name to one of the country’s most prominent cricket championships offers immense advertising opportunities. The title sponsor receives extensive exposure, including more advertising space, a larger logo, an enhanced time slot, and the company’s name and logo displayed prominently in the trophy area. To secure this coveted spot, companies must pay a substantial sum to the BCCI.
- Team Sponsorship: Official team sponsorship also contributes significantly to the BCCI’s revenue model. Remember the Sahara logo at the center of the Indian national cricket team’s jersey, worn by legendary players representing the country on the international stage? The publicity and marketing benefits for the sponsoring company are immense. Thus, sponsoring the team presents a golden opportunity for companies, leading them to pay a substantial amount to the BCCI for the sponsorship rights.
- Official Kit Sponsors: The company that sponsors the official kit of the Indian cricket team must pay a substantial amount to the BCCI for logo placement on the jersey. Nike, the previous kit sponsor, paid approximately 12.13 million USD annually to the board in a five-year deal, totaling nearly 60.6 million USD. Since 2020, MPL has taken over as the official kit sponsor, paying a base price of INR 65 lakhs per match and a total of INR 3 crore annually as the official merchandise partner. Kit sponsorship, therefore, plays a significant role in the BCCI’s revenue generation.
- Revenue from Bilateral Series: The International Cricket Council (ICC) hosts various international cricket series between cricket-playing countries, such as the India Tour of Australia or the New Zealand Tour of India. These events generate substantial revenue for the cricket boards of the participating countries. When Team India plays a bilateral series, the BCCI receives a share of the revenue earned from the events. With millions of Indian cricket fans as viewers, the BCCI, being one of the big three cricket boards globally, earns a significant portion of this revenue. In the 2019-20 cricket series alone, the BCCI earned approximately INR 950 crores in revenue.
- Indian Premier League (IPL) Revenues: The Indian Premier League (IPL), the world’s largest domestic T20 cricket tournament, occupies the sixth spot in terms of revenue generation for the BCCI. The IPL is highly attended, marketable, and viewed worldwide, making it a lucrative source of income for the board. In addition to title sponsorship, tournament sponsorship, and media rights, the IPL generates revenue through various other means, including advertisements during the events, ticket sales, a percentage of earnings from franchises, and more. All these factors contribute to the substantial revenue earned by the BCCI through the IPL brand.
Rising Income Tax Payments by BCCI
Income tax payments made by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) during the fiscal year 2021-22 increased by 37% year over year, reaching a total of Rs 1,159 crore.
