IPL - India's guilty pleasure

[Zap_Brannigan]

In dreamland' date=' right?[/quote'] Do you know what Ranji players were paid pre-dalmiya? Just google for Ranji player salary increase..

[Zap_Brannigan]

Dude, I know it is a business but I am pissed about business model. (1)Only rich people can afford Huge initial deposits, this is business for rich people to make money. But the product is easily sellable to the cricket crazy Indian public, it is easy money for those invested in IPL. All they have to do is buy a franchise and then register profit. In a country like India where 100 rich people are worth of 25% total domestic GDP and rich n poor divide is growing , this kind of businesses which make rich people richer won't do any good. Major part of the revenue comes from TV advertisements and millions of people which don't give a sh!t about IPL also have to bear the cost of these advertisement if they buy these products. I dont mind if they make money from the people who are ready to pay for watch. Secondly BCCI is self sufficient organisation even without IPL. They make huge money from international matches and they dont need IPL money to promote cricket. In spite of that no much improvement in facilities in the stadium etc..But IPL is earning huge revenue to BCCI, I dont know what they do with this money. They don't care to disclose their accounts to the general public. All in all, IPL is easiest way to pluck money form public to make profit to BCCI and rich investors

Do you think that companies would reduce the price of the product if they stopped advertising in IPL? No company directly passes on the cost of advertisement to the consumer. Its like saying that Dhoni increased the cost of Aircell phone because he demanded 5 crore for an advertisement. Besides ever heard of supply and demand? If consumer thinks that the price is too high, then they can buy from the competition. Dude, you are way off with whatever you think you know. Why are you whining about that only the rich can invest in these clubs. Any business has its risks. Do you think that IPL was immune from it. Heck, some franchise still havent seen a dime of profit. If creating a cricket league was guaranteed profit, then don't you think that other countries would have done it too?Is it only in India..ok. Are you also cursing Warren Buffet that he is getting richer ever minute by investing his money and that the employees that work for the company that he invested in doesnt get a share of his profits? The franchise owners competed with others who lost because they didnt think that bidding higher would return profits. If success was guaranteed then Hero honda would have bid 200 million $ on mumbai.. Secondly, It is any sports organization's job to make money. Ranji players got a paltry 1000 Rs for a game last decade...now they make 50 times over,maybe even more. Pensions to retired players have also increased many folds. From making 10,000 Rs, international indian players are earning in millions. Do you want our players to be like the paki players?Playing in BD leagues to make some money?Or how other teams have abandoned touring them even before the attack on SL players. If BCCI is ran like you suggested, we would be just another PCB. No cricket, no money, no dignity.

[achilles]

The Associations have to fund for the upgrade of the stadiums not BCCI. What money has gone into the roots of the game? You make it sound as if the BCCI is the most professionally run organisation in the world and cares about Indian cricket and its future.

Its a partnership between the Associations and the BCCI. As for BCCI caring about Indian cricket and its future, its a "damned if you and damned if you don't situation". You may find an analogy below.

and as for Dharamsala and Goa hosting match' date=' it is this stupid rotation ploicy that means that we host a lot of matches at totally empty stadiums.[/quote'] Thats pessimism. There are 2 ways to view this. One, is the way you've perceived it. The other, is appreciation of BCCI's attempt to take the game to new venues, stadiums and varied public in India, which is a farcry from the past where matches would be predominantly played in Bombay, Calcutta, Delhi and Chepauk. So we should appreciate their efforts.

[urbestfriend]

Do you think that companies would reduce the price of the product if they stopped advertising in IPL? No company directly passes on the cost of advertisement to the consumer. Its like saying that Dhoni increased the cost of Aircell phone because he demanded 5 crore for an advertisement. Besides ever heard of supply and demand? If consumer thinks that the price is too high, then they can buy from the competition. Dude, you are way off with whatever you think you know. Why are you whining about that only the rich can invest in these clubs. Any business has its risks. Do you think that IPL was immune from it. Heck, some franchise still havent seen a dime of profit. If creating a cricket league was guaranteed profit, then don't you think that other countries would have done it too?Is it only in India..ok. Are you also cursing Warren Buffet that he is getting richer ever minute by investing his money and that the employees that work for the company that he invested in doesnt get a share of his profits? The franchise owners competed with others who lost because they didnt think that bidding higher would return profits. If success was guaranteed then Hero honda would have bid 200 million $ on mumbai.. Secondly, It is any sports organization's job to make money. Ranji players got a paltry 1000 Rs for a game last decade...now they make 50 times over,maybe even more. Pensions to retired players have also increased many folds. From making 10,000 Rs, international indian players are earning in millions. Do you want our players to be like the paki players?Playing in BD leagues to make some money?Or how other teams have abandoned touring them even before the attack on SL players. If BCCI is ran like you suggested, we would be just another PCB. No cricket, no money, no dignity.

Dont blind by BCCI's success over PCB my friend. Your argument is too naive. 1) You claim that IPL is a business and like any other business, risk is associated with IPL too. I agree that IPL is a business. But it is a monopoly. Being a monopoly itself is not an evil. But we know IPL/BCCI unethically forced its competition out of business. Such monopolies in business are harmful. When there is a monopoly, there is easy money. No wonder businesses are shelling out millions to buys franchisee. What value IPL is giving in return to millions ? businesses are ready to shell out this amount because they are sure of profit and there is no risk involved in it. IPL earns money with its high arm tactics by killing any competition. IPL is valuated 4.1 billion dollar which has grown more than 1000% in last 3 years. If a business with monopoly is growing with this rate, then something is amiss. 2) Due to IPL's monopoly this league is forced upon to general public. If there is a competition, IPL couldn't have been as popular as today. So companies are forced to advertise in IPL for their brand promotion or lose out market share to rival brand which has used IPL for its promotion.IPL ad rates have been on a rise continously for three years. A 5 second slot costs 5 lakhs. So companies are forced to promote their brand in IPL and pass this on to the customer. 3) IPL is a private entity. We, general pulbic would never get the access for IPL's and its franchisees balance sheet. But IPL has earned more than 1600 million $ just by selling franchises. IPL's balance sheet is different from BCCI's. What does IPL do with these profits? We never know. Your argument that domestic players get more money is naive. They are paid by franchises not by IPL. Pensions to first class cricketers hardly cost 10 crores/year. Take a look at this article

BCCI Has Paid Up Rs 167 Crore Pradeep Thakur | TNN New Delhi: As the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) prepares for projected earnings of $1 billion in the IPLs third season,taxmen are looking for their share of the pie having already made Rs 110 crore. The Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) has set up a watchdog headed by a chief commissioner in Mumbai to keep a close eye on IPL transactions.The Rs 110 crore in the first 15 days of IPL-3 is from tax deducted at source on payments made by the organiser and its franchisees. A senior CBDT official said by the end of the IPL-3 season,the department expects to mop up close to Rs 200 crore in direct taxes from games-related revenue.From service tax,the Central Board of Excise and Customs has estimated an income of more than Rs 100 crore that could take net revenue collection from IPL-3 close to Rs 300 crore. Three meetings of the I-T committee on IPL have been held in Mumbai where all receipts and payments by both BCCI and its franchisees were discussed. Till date,BCCI has paid Rs 167 crore during the fiscal year 2009-10,ending March 31.Its payment during IPL-3 alone has been to the tune of Rs 66 crore.The four franchisees that are assessed in Mumbai have made a payment of Rs 25 crore. The department is yet to get a detailed account on the payments made by four other franchisees that are assessed in Chennai,Hyderabad,Delhi and Bangalore.CBDT has asked chief commissioners of these jurisdictions to report payments made by these franchisees. In IPL-1,the government had earned Rs 90 crore through TDS while BCCI had refused to pay tax on its income as it claimed to be a charitable organisation.However,the Income Tax department disputed the sports bodys claims and said any commercial activity such as the IPL needs to pay tax on income. BCCIs plea seeking exemption on its income is pending before tax tribunal.Though IPL-3 is likely to generate close to Rs 4,500 crore as estimated by its commissioner Lalit Modi,the Income Tax department hopes revenues from related activities as advertisements on television and earnings by sports companies may be at least half as big as the direct revenue of the IPL tournament.The games broadcaster,Sony,is likely to generate income upwards of Rs 800 crore.

So they are likely to generate 4500 crores in this IPL which is more than 8 franchises paid to IPL in first year. No wonder all franchises are in profit in second year itself. But we'll never know how this profit will be utilized by IPL/BCCI.

[urbestfriend]

A very good article in todays times of India

IPL commissioner Lalit Modi is undoubtedly a financial wizard, but his latest exploit of bagging a staggering sum of Rs 3,250 crore from the two newly added franchisees has left almost all open-mouthed and some even deeply suspicious of the entire episode, especially after the recent controversies. After all, what is it that is driving the IPL brand to such dizzy heights, which is estimated today at a whopping $4.13 billion in less than three years? Some people believe that IPL will soon overtake the English Premier League (EPL), currently valued at around $12 billion. It sounds absurd to me because EPL is the world's most widely watched sporting league with a viewership of over 500 million, spread across over 200 countries. It not only rides on football's universal appeal, but also on the deep-rooted league culture of Europe. IPL neither has a world audience nor a genuine league culture. It is merely about owning teams on the strength of economic and not sporting power, and attracting crowds through a variety of sporting and non-sporting gimmicks, including foreign cheerleaders, and late night partying for those who can afford it. Even though IPL's brand valuers attribute its so-called success to what they call 'a huge amount of intellectual property being created by the complete IPL ecosystem', to me that appears nothing more than hollow jargon and outright hype aimed at vulnerable Indian cricket fans! The heady mix of glitz and glamour plus an insatiable craving for instant riches appear to have taken control of the wheels of the IPL juggernaut, which now perhaps is not even in BCCI's control. In such a situation, a big crash is surely imminent! In my view, IPL is long on showbiz and short on substance and, hence, it's unlikely to sustain beyond the initial euphoria. First, BCCI seems to have abandoned its not-for-profit character by directly promoting IPL business, which could endanger its own position. Second, BCCI is indulging in rent-seeking by exploiting its monopoly privileges, which is highly questionable. Third, excessive hype around IPL has artificially jacked up its 'brand value', which is extremely fragile. Fourth, there is little transparency on who the real owners of some IPL teams are and how all IPL franchisees are faring. Finally, many believe that gambling is the real driver behind the IPL dhamaka which, if true, cannot hoodwink law-enforcing agencies forever. By directly promoting IPL business, BCCI has seriously compromised with its regulatory role, now even more diluted with some IPL franchisees also being on the BCCI management. With such a permissive attitude, how can anyone expect BCCI to function objectively, especially when franchisees have coughed up such astronomical fees? Look at the relationship between the Football Association (FA), which governs football in England, and EPL. FA maintains arm's length distance from EPL and does not have any financial interest in it. But BCCI, IPL's promoter with deep revenue-sharing arrangements with its franchisees, is engaged in profit maximisation, which is certainly not what its constitution demands of it. The astronomical bids are nothing but the premium franchisees have paid to own teams and insulate themselves from outside competition. In fact, ICL, the pioneer of T20 league in India, was thrown out of business by BCCI because it saw a threat to its own monopoly. BCCI went to the extent of threatening its players with debarment from representing India if they played for ICL. What a pity even ICC took sides to strengthen the BCCI's hands. BCCI's action is not only bad for sports, but also a highly questionable business practice. And so is the case with the highly commercial use, in the garb of sports, of prime land given to BCCI and its affiliates by the government for promoting amateur sports. Some argue that IPL is neither about serious business nor about serious sports, but merely about high net worth individuals willing to dish out obscene sums of money to become celebrities overnight. For me, that does not cut much ice because today you can hog the limelight and even get paid for it by featuring on a TV reality show. Why should anyone then be willing to pay such obscene amounts as franchise fee? The problem is mainly that of poor disclosure and lack of transparency in the functioning of these entities, which can end up in a scam, especially since some franchisees are already posturing to go public shortly. Finally, on the possible role of gambling in IPL, in my opinion, the best option would be to make sports betting legal so that it is conducted in a fair and open way and the money is not used for nefarious activities. It will not only generate huge revenues for the government, but also help eradicate the possible nexus or cosy relationship that sometimes builds up between legal and illegal businesses. I too am a cricket fan and would welcome the emergence of league cricket in India provided it is clean and does not compromise the true spirit of sports which, to my mind, IPL certainly does not fulfil. I am open to a counterview, but it has to be more than just a bubble!

[IKnowU]

^^^ meh time will tell how this turns out.

[achilles]

A very good article in todays times of India

Sincere request. Can you link me to the source that I can bookmark the article?

[mastana]

^^^ meh time will tell how this turns out.

Yeah till then keep worshipping Modi.