For the second consecutive year, the monetary worth of the IPL has decreased. This follows an INR 2000 crore shock to the real-money prohibition on online gaming and the effective end of the bidding battle with the consolidation of media rights under JioStar.
In 2025, the Women’s Premier League was valued at INR 1,275 crore, a 5.6% decrease. A report by the consultancy firm D&P Advisory states that the value of the IPL fell by 8% in 2025, reaching INR 76,100 crore. The same report claims that at its height in 2023, the lucrative competition had earned INR 92,500.
In 2024, Walt Disney and Reliance Industries Ltd., which is headed by Mukesh Ambani, merged their Indian media holdings to create JioStar. Consequently, there was less competition in the bidding process for the IPL’s broadcast and streaming rights.
The likely failure of the Sony and Zed combination reduced competition, which in turn affected valuation, according to the report’s author, Santosh N. He acknowledged that the 2021 valuation was the highest it had ever been.
There are two or three factors that could determine the next media rights renewal cycle. One is the level of competition. In 2017, Zed, Star, and Sony got into a brawl. Santosh was reported by Mint as saying, “There was a significant jump in media right values, and it was a multi-horse race.”
According to Santosh, “The RMG companies were generating conversions from IPL advertising and helping to maintain high engagement for the IPL.”
“The number smashed all records during a fierce struggle between two players in 2021. The less competitive climate was also influenced by the possible failure of the Sony and Zed combination. Zed and Sony would have become a fierce rival if their merger had been successful. However, by itself, they might not be strong candidates.
“New bidder types, possibly from Big Tech companies, may emerge in 2027. Growth will occur, but there can also be pressure to decline. We’ve adjusted our projections for the growth of media rights value from substantially higher to 15-20%,” he continued.
The Promotion and Regulation of Online Gaming Act, 2025, has banned all real-money gaming, citing financial fraud, addiction, and money laundering. This has dealt a serious blow to the IPL ecosystem, costing the advertising and sponsorship sector at least INR 1500 to 2000 crore. This created a significant divide between fan engagement activations, broadcaster earnings, and franchise partnerships.
The Board of Control for Cricket in India, or BCCI, wouldn’t have any trouble displacing real money gaming advertising in terms of quantity, in my opinion.
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