On the face of it, Bangladesh’s decision to ban IPL telecast indefinitely in the country is political posturing. It, however, will not affect the tournament or the BCCI, revenue-wise. Market experts believe that even short-term, losing Bangladesh on the broadcast will not dent IPL’s business
The Bangladesh government and their cricket board have been in retaliatory mode following Kolkata Knight Riders’ decision to release seamer Mustafizur Rahman after the BCCI directive.
“I don’t see this move, banning IPL broadcasts in Bangladesh, having a big impact,” Santosh N, managing partner at D&P Advisory Services, a valuation service provider, was quoted as saying by Business Standard. “It doesn’t affect BCCI’s revenue, nor does it change what the broadcaster would pay.”
There’s a feeling that any revenue loss would be taken care of by other brands chipping in. “Any revenue loss will likely be offset by other brands stepping in,” said N Chandramouli, CEO of TRA Research. “The IPL continues to grow, and existing sponsors may increase their advertising in the upcoming seasons.”
According to Brand Finance’s Ajimon Francis, the net impact would be “less than two per cent”.
The IPL’s broadcast rights deal for the the period 2023-2027 is nearly $6.2 billion. T Sports is reportedly Bangladesh’s rights holder for the IPL and payments are said to be agreement-bound, irrespective of the telecast of the matches.
On Monday, the Bangladesh government halted the broadcast of the upcoming IPL season, issuing a statement that said: “It has come to attention that Mustafizur Rahman, a star player from Bangladesh, has been instructed to be dropped from the Kolkata Knight Riders team for the Indian Premier League cricket matches. No logical reason for such a decision by the BCCI is known, and such a decision has saddened, hurt, and aggrieved the people of Bangladesh.”
The statement added: “In this situation, until further notice, it is requested by order to stop the broadcasting/telecasting of all matches and programs (sic) of the Indian Premier League. This order is issued with the approval of the proper authority and in the public interest.”
A day before, the Bangladesh Cricket Board had sent a letter to the ICC, asking the game’s governing body to move Bangladesh’s matches in the upcoming T20 World Cup out of India due to “security” reasons.
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