Are IPL Media Rights Set To Plateau At 5.4 Billion Dollars? Media Partners Asia Report Finds

Nearly two decades of rapid growth since its inception in 2008, the Indian Premier League’s media rights market now appears to be entering a phase of stabilisation, with future cycles unlikely to replicate the sharp valuation spikes seen in earlier auctions.

According to a report titled "The IPL: Teams, Rights & Valuations" released by Media Partners Asia on March 24, the upcoming 2028–32 media rights cycle of the Indian Premier League is expected to maintain a total valuation of around $5.4 billion, matching the current 2023–27 deal.

While the overall figure holds steady, the per-match value is projected to fall by roughly 13%, from $13.2 million to $11.5 million. The report attributes this decline to the league’s expanded 94-match format, which increases the number of games without a proportional uplift in aggregate rights value.

The current cycle itself represented a major escalation compared to previous agreements. Between 2018 and 2022, consolidated broadcast and digital rights were held by Star India for approximately $2.55 billion. The subsequent 2022 auction introduced a segmented bidding structure for the first time, drawing multiple major bidders into direct competition.

Viacom18, supported by Reliance Industries, secured digital rights with a bid close to $3 billion, while The Walt Disney Company retained television rights at about $3.01 billion. That split-market contest significantly drove up valuations across packages.

Market dynamics have shifted since then. The merger of Viacom18 and Disney’s Indian media assets into a unified platform, JioHotstar, has reduced the competitive tension that previously pushed bidding higher.

With fewer independent bidders vying for separate rights components, the report suggests that the kind of aggressive price escalation seen in 2022 is unlikely to repeat.

IPL Franchise Valuations Shift

According to a recent report by WPP Media, India’s sports economy has crossed USD 2 billion in 2025, with cricket accounting for nearly 89% of the total share.

While viewership continues to scale, the economics around monetisation are showing strain. The report indicates that rights holders in the current cycle are facing estimated cumulative losses between $1.8 billion and $2 billion.

Advertising growth has also slowed, recording a compound annual growth rate of around 7% over the last three seasons, compared with 18% in the preceding cycle.

Several structural factors have contributed to this deceleration. The withdrawal of major advertiser categories such as ed-tech companies and real-money gaming firms, along with restrictions on crypto advertising, has reduced the breadth of the advertiser base.

Broader macroeconomic uncertainty is also influencing spending patterns, although newer sectors like artificial intelligence are beginning to emerge as potential contributors to ad demand.

At the franchise level, revenue composition has evolved significantly. Media rights now account for roughly 75% of total franchise revenues, up from 48% in 2017. While this shift has supported stronger profitability, with EBITDA margins rising to an average of 34% from about 10% in the league’s earlier phase, it has also increased reliance on a single income stream.

The report warns that such concentration amplifies risk if media rights values stagnate or decline in future cycles.

Non-media revenue streams, including sponsorships and commercial partnerships, have been expanding at a compound annual growth rate of 22% since the pandemic. However, this growth is occurring from a relatively modest base.

With limited upside anticipated from the next rights cycle, several franchise stakeholders are reportedly exploring stake sales to strengthen liquidity positions.

Mihir Shah, vice president of India at Media Partners Asia, highlighted the structural shift ahead. As quoted by Variety, he said the 2028 cycle "marks the beginning of a period in which franchise value creation depends on building the non-media revenue base, focusing on sponsorship, international presence and digital monetisation."

He further noted that investors relying on current valuation multiples should account for the concentration risk tied to media rights, adding that the current pricing environment "may be shorter than the market assumes."

In its franchise benchmarking, the report places Mumbai Indians at the top of the overall rankings, followed by Chennai Super Kings. Royal Challengers Bengaluru are ranked fourth, benefiting from a strong global fan base associated with Virat Kohli, though their position is constrained by limited championship success and a narrower organisational footprint.

At the lower end of the spectrum, Punjab Kings and Lucknow Super Giants feature near the bottom of the standings.

On the consumption side, JioHotstar continues to demonstrate significant reach, reportedly crossing 70 million concurrent users during the ICC T20 World Cup final. While audience growth remains strong and is expected to carry into the 2026 IPL season, the report underscores that monetisation has not kept pace with scale.

The widening gap between high content costs and revenue generation remains the central constraint shaping the valuation outlook for the next rights cycle.