IPL became India’s first unicorn in 2008 at $1.1 billion valuation: Report
An analysis by D&P Advisory 'IPL: The Pioneer of Indian Unicorns' said that the valuation of the league has steadily increased since the year of its inception
A news report quoting D&P Advisory’s latest analysis of the Indian Premier League said that the cricketing tournament was India’s first unicorn, valued at $1.1 billion in 2008, the year of its inception.
"It is interesting to note that of the earliest set of unicorns that exist today (100 odd unicorns in India currently) like InMobi (2011) and Flipkart (2012), IPL (2008) is the oldest of the current set of Unicorns. It should also be noted that this unicorn is the most profitable of all the startups out there," said the adivsory.
The advisory, which revealed in December that IPL became a decacorn (valued at $10.9 billion) recently, is set to release a new analysis titled “IPL: The Pioneer of Indian Unicorns.”
The study takes into account media rights, title sponsorship and associate sponsorship values of IPL to peg its total value over the years before 2014.
"Media Rights have emerged as the most significant source of revenue for the IPL. The league’s ability to attract large viewership and engage fans has helped it to command premium prices for its media rights. As the number of matches has increased over the years, the total value of media rights has also gone up significantly," said the study.
According to the report, the analysis by D&P pointed out that the broadcast rights of the tournament raked in Rs 486 crore in 2008. The title and associate sponsorship rights also brought in Rs 36 crore and Rs 48 crore, respectively.
Since then, IPL valuation has steadily increased based on its higher broadcast and sponsorship fee year after year, says the report. In 2009, its valuation rose to $1.7 billion; in 2010, it further jumped to $2.2 billion when the league comprised 60 matches. When the number of games increased to 74 in 2011, IPL valuation rose to $2.7 billion.
