Wow! What is it called when you get goosebumps while listening to a podcast? This fantastic 4.5-hour account of IPL from an outside-in perspective reads like a proper masala film. This is among the most riveting podcast episodes I've listened to.
It's got so many emotional highs, along with the right business insights. My two favourites are when the hosts painted the picture of Yuvraj hitting 6 sixes in a row during the T20 World Cup 2007 and Brendon McCullum's 158* in the very first IPL match in 2008.
The first half covers Lalit Modi's entrepreneurial genius and his role in unlocking cricket's commercialization potential in India, while the second half goes deeper into the business structure and the future prospects of the IPL. Ben Gilbert and David Rosenthal at Acquired may have inadvertently written the best script for a biopic on Lalit Modi. Netflix needs to pick this up.
IPL is valued at ~$16 billion after just 17 years of existence, with teams valued at ~$1 billion each on average. Annual revenue is ~$1.7 billion, with media rights accounting for 85% of that amount ($1.2 billion from the recent 5-year media rights deals). Since 2008, the size of India's ad market has 10x-ed to $20 billion, thanks to IPL and Lalit.
IPL is already the second most valuable league in the world behind the NFL on a per-match revenue basis. Where does it go from here?
Ben and David present the Bull, Bear, and Mega Bull cases for the IPL, which I've summarized below. This is only a sliver of what's covered in the episode. I highly recommend listening to the full thing.
PS: Did you know that the average revenue an IPL team makes jumped >2x in FY24 to ~Rs.680 crore ($80M) due to the new media rights deal?