With a USD 12 billion brand value and record-breaking revenues, the India Premier League is no longer just cricket’s richest league. It is now competing head-to-head with the world’s most powerful sports businesses.
The Indian Premier League (IPL) has evolved into one of the world’s most commercially successful and influential sports leagues, with its 2025 season underscoring its formidable economic strength and global sports leagues.
Launched in 2008 as a $1 billion experiment in franchise cricket, the IPL has grown into a $15-16 billion sporting powerhouse, driven by its aggressive digital strategy, multi-layered revenue model, and near-unrivalled domestic fan base.
The league’s cumulative brand value has surged by 13% in the last year alone, rising from $10.7 billion in 2023 to $12 billion in 2024, according to Brand Finance, a leading UK-based brand valuation consultancy with offices in over 20 countries worldwide.
This rapid ascent places the IPL among the world’s top sports leagues, trailing only global giants like the National Football League (NFL), valued at over $150 billion, and the English Premier League (EPL), estimated at around $20 billion
At the heart of this growth is the IPL’s media rights model, which secured over $6.2 billion for the 2023-2027 cycle. Domestic TV rights were awarded to Disney Star, while digital streaming rights went to Viacom18, now merged with Disney+ Hotstar under the JioHotstar platform. This deal has made the IPL the second-most valuable sports league globally on a per-match basis, with per-game revenue standing at $16.8 million — second only to the NFL.
The 2025 season cemented this trajectory, with digital viewership surpassing television for the first time. JioHotstar alone reported over 384 billion minutes of content streamed, while total combined watch time across platforms reached nearly 840 billion minutes. The IPL 2025 final recorded 578 million streams, surpassing viewership numbers for some of the world’s biggest sporting events, including the NFL Super Bowl and UEFA Champions League final.
The 2025 IPL final between RCB and Punjab Kings set a new TV viewership record in India, with 169 million viewers, according to the Broadcast Audience Research Council (BARC) data.
The IPL’s revenue model extends well beyond media rights. Franchise fees have contributed significantly, with the sale of Gujarat Titans and Lucknow Super Giants in 2022 alone bringing in ₹12,715 crore ($1.6 billion). Sponsorships from brands such as Tata Group, alongside team-level deals, further strengthen the financial ecosystem. Advertising revenue continues to grow, with broadcast ad sales surpassing $600 million in 2025. Connected TV ad rates jumped by nearly 30%, reflecting the league’s unparalleled ability to deliver targeted, high-volume audiences.
Key IPL revenue sources include sponsorships, franchise fees and team revenue, ticket sales, hospitality, merchandising, licensing, advertising, digital rights, and international broadcast deals across the US, UK, Middle East, and Australia. A digital-first strategy and interactive fan engagement have boosted the league’s popularity. In 2025, IPL revenue crossed ₹10,000 crore ($1.2 billion), rivalling global leagues like MLB ($11.5B) and the NBA ($10.5B).
The league’s impact on players is equally significant. Top stars earn multi-million-dollar deals, while young talent gains instant fame. This year, 13-year-old Vaibhav Suryavanshi of Rajasthan Royals became the youngest player signed and the youngest centurion with a 38-ball hundred—showcasing IPL’s power to elevate emerging talent.
With the league’s relentless growth the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) considers expanding the tournament to 94 matches from 2028, up from the current 74. While no new franchises are planned, this proposed expansion signals the IPL’s continued ambition to scale even further.
In less than two decades, the IPL has redefined the commercial and sporting landscape, proving that a two-month tournament based largely in India can rival, and in some areas surpass, global sports leagues built over several decades.
