Things are "looking up" for the eight Indian Premier League franchises as the BCCI "gears up" for what is slated to be a "historic media rights auction of its prize property" on Sept. 4, according to Gaurav Laghate of the ECONOMIC TIMES. Even by "conservative estimates," each franchise is set for a Rs 150 crore ($22.5M) "windfall" starting next season, making all of them profitable "unless they embark on an extravagant spending spree." The media rights -- TV and digital for India and overseas -- are "expected to fetch" at least Rs 12,000-14,000 crore ($1.8B-$2.1B) for the next five years. Title sponsor Vivo has "already committed" Rs 2,199 crore ($330.5M), while there will be three or four official partners "shelling out" Rs 700-800 crore ($105M-$120M) between '18 and '22, "swelling BCCI's coffers" by at least Rs 15,000 crore ($2.25B). Starting in '18, the BCCI will share 40% of its media rights revenue among the eight IPL franchises. A source said, "At the given cost structure, all the teams will comfortably break even next year. If the player cost doesn’t increase much, the profits will be upwards of Rs 50 crore ($7.5M)." An IPL team owner said that "keeping costs in check will be critical to this calculation." Kings XI Punjab co-Owner Mohit Burman said that historically, it has been "difficult for the IPL franchises to make money." Burman: “A higher revenue pool will only help if the cost also does not increase much" (ECONOMIC TIMES, 8/31).
