Women’s Premier League has recorded a strong valuation for its debut season
The Women’s Premier League (WPL) recorded a value of Rs 1,250 crore (approximately $150 million) in its debut edition, making it one of the biggest women’s cricket leagues globally.
The significant valuation is primarily driven by the league’s substantial media and title rights deals, said a report by D&P Advisory, a valuation services provider. It added that in addition to strong media rights value, WPL got on board the Tata Group as the title sponsors for Rs 165 crore for five years.
The WPL media rights value stands at Rs 951 crore spanning five years, translating to Rs 7.09 crore per match. This contract stands out as the world’s second most valuable broadcast agreement for a women’s sports league. WNBA’s (Women’s National Basketball Association) per season media rights value stands at $25 million, followed by WPL at $23.4 million, WSL (Women’s Super League) at $9.6 million, and Women’s UCL (UEFA Women’s Champions League, a football competition) at $8 million.
“A particularly striking indicator of the WPL’s success is the cumulative sale proceeds of franchises, amounting to a staggering Rs 4,670 crore. This substantial investment by team owners signals their confidence in the league’s future trajectory. They foresee the WPL not only thriving but also offering significant financial returns in the coming years,” the report said.
While it may take time for franchises to become profitable, the WPL presents an untapped advertising opportunity, unlike the relatively saturated market for the IPL and men’s cricket, noted Piyush Patnaik, Partner, D & P Advisory.
The league is also making strides towards achieving gender pay parity and providing a level playing field for women in cricket, said Santosh N, Managing Partner of D & P Advisory.
“WPL promotes the values of inclusivity and diversity in the cricketing ecosystem. The team’s branding efforts, fan engagement strategies, have all contributed to its success and popularity. Moreover, the WPL serves as a platform for infrastructure development and grassroots-level talent, bridging the gap between domestic and international cricket and is slated to reach greater heights in the next two or three years,” he added.
Prior to the WPL, only Indian players playing internationally were able to gain cross-cultural insights by interacting with international players. Now, even domestic players have the chance to benefit from this experience. The exposure to different approaches in the WPL broadens the cricketing knowledge of domestic players and helps them develop their skills, the report said.
“The WPL has not only the potential to match but also to redefine the global narrative of women’s cricket leagues. Our goal is to have 250 million incremental fans of the women’s game by 2032. India will be hosting the 2025 edition of the Women’s Cricket World Cup, and that will present a great opportunity to build further on the successes women’s cricket has enjoyed in India,” said Anurag Dahiya Chief Commercial Officer, ICC (International Cricket Council).
WPL versus IPL
WPL is estimated to be 25-30 percent of IPL’s inaugural edition value which Santosh said is significantly strong considering the limited number of matches during WPL.
The IPL commenced with a larger framework, featuring eight teams and a total of 591 matches. In contrast, the WPL started on a more modest scale, with five teams playing 22 matches.
Given that the league’s value is linked to the number of matches, this disparity in scale is a significant factor in the valuation differences between the two leagues. The IPL’s season 1 per-match media rights value at Rs 4,700 crore, was notably higher than that of the WPL at Rs 1,250 crore.
IPL value growth
As compared to the last edition, the IPL ecosystem value has risen from Rs 87,000 crore to Rs 92,500 crore, marking an increase of around 6.3 percent, the report said. This year’s IPL ecosystem value demonstrates only a modest increment.
Emerging as the most valuable franchise this year was Mumbai Indians with a value of USD 410-450 million.
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- Source: https://www.moneycontrol.com/news/entertainment/wpl-scores-rs-1250-crorevaluation-for-debut-season-ipl-2023-sees-6-uptickvalue_17244991.html
