As the coronavirus pandemic grips countries across the world, the sporting industry has been staggering. Many of the major sporting leagues have either suspended or postponed their events indefinitely. The Tokyo 2020 Olympics, UEFA EURO 2020, Wimbledon, and events by the National Basketball Association (NBA) and National Football League (NFL) are among the many that have officially declared their decision.
This brings us to the question of the fate of one such league closer home — the Indian Premier League. The most awaited sporting event in the country has also felt the weight of this pandemic. The IPL 2020 was scheduled to begin from 29th March, but the tournament had to be postponed till 15th April due to the coronavirus pandemic.
The IPL then got postponed indefinitely on April 15th by the BCCI, as the Centre announced the extension of lockdown with an increasing number of cases. This opened two new doors of speculation; to have a closed-door tournament or a possible opportunity to host the event in October-November, as the T20 World Cup has also been postponed.
Even during a global pandemic why is the IPL relevant? The answer to that is nothing but the growing monetary success it has had in a short period of time. The value of this extravaganza is estimated at approximately $ 6.8 billion (INR 47,500 crores). It not only impacts the people associated with the event, but also has a positive impact on the economy of the country. The financial impact that COVID-19 has on the economy will be bigger than any other that our history has witnessed.
The revenue is generated from three main sources — television broadcasting rights fees, sponsorship fees, and matchday revenues. In case of delay or cancellation, there will be a chain reaction of monetary losses starting with advertisers not being able to pay broadcasters. With the cash crunch every company is facing, it will be difficult for teams to pay their players and sponsor teams. Broadcasting and sponsorship contribute to 75% of the revenue and there will be an overall downfall in both.
The third source of revenue will be hit the worst as matches cannot be held within a physical audience maintaining social distancing. It will give way to major public health catastrophe otherwise. The ticket prices will also have to be reduced as the spending power of spectators will reduce drastically. The IPL like any other asset will not generate its expected revenue but in testing times like this any amount of revenue generated is a boon.
In a country like ours, it’s definitely with privilege we talk about hosting a sporting event because of the wage gap between the rich and poor. Coronavirus has made us witness the deteriorating healthcare systems and more people dying of starvation than of the virus itself. The IPL definitely serves as a relieving entertainment for the people of the country and viable revenue-generating event to contribute to the economy, but it’s not greater than the lives of the people.
The IPL will face unprecedented challenges and be vulnerable during these times. The morality must be to save lives and wait for normalcy to return once we find a vaccine to this deadly disease that has halted the world on standstill.