The IPL monetary value has dropped for the second year in a row. This comes after the consolidation of media rights under JioStar virtually ended the bidding war, and the real-money prohibition on online gaming received an INR 2000 crore jolt.
The Women’s Premier League’s worth declined by 5.6% to INR 1,275 crore in 2025. According to a report by consultancy firm D&P Advisory, the IPL’s worth fell by 8% to INR 76,100 crore in 2025. According to the same report, the cash-rich tournament peaked in 2023 at INR 92,500.
Reliance Industries Ltd, headed by Mukesh Ambani, and Walt Disney merged their Indian media businesses in 2024 to establish JioStar.
As a result, bidding for IPL broadcast and streaming rights became less competitive.
Santosh N, the report’s author, explained how the probable collapse of the Sony-Zee merger reduced competition and hence had an impact on valuation. He also admitted that the valuation for 2021 was at an all-time high.
“Two or three things could define the next renewal cycle of media rights. One is how severe the competition is. In 2017, there was a fight between Sony, Star, and Zee. It was a multi-horse race, and there was a significant jump in media right values,” Santosh was quoted as saying by Mint.
“There was an intense battle in 2021 between two players, and the number broke all records. The potential failure of the Sony and Zee merger also contributed to the less competitive environment. If Sony and Zee merger had gone through, they would have been a formidable competitor. But on their own, they may not be serious contenders.
“We might see new kinds of bidders in 2027, maybe from Big Tech firms. There will be growth, but there may be downward pressure. We have tweaked the forecast for the growth in media rights value to 15-20% from much higher,” he added.
Meanwhile, the Promotion and Regulation of Online Gaming Act, 2025 has put a ban on all real-money gaming citing reasons of addiction, money laundering and financial fraud, and has come as significant blow to IPL ecosystem, wiping out at least INR 1500 to 2000 crore in advertising and sponsorship segment. This formed a large gap across franchise partnerships, broadcaster revenues and fan-engagement activations.
“I don’t think BCCI (Board of Control for Cricket in India) would struggle to replace real money gaming advertisers in terms of numbers. The RMG companies were contributing to keeping engagement for IPL high, and they were getting conversions from IPL advertising,” said Santosh.
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