The week-long pause in the Indian Premier League (IPL) has rattled advertisers and broadcaster JioHotstar, raising the spectre of a crash in event ad revenues. The broadcaster could see as much as 35% of the estimated Rs 5,500 crore IPL-linked advertising revenues – roughly Rs 2,000 crore – wiped off if the suspension ultimately leads to a cancellation of the event, according to Karan Taurani, senior vice-president at Elara Capital.
The suspension impacts the closing stretch of the season, with 16 matches still to be played — 12 league games and four playoff fixtures. “From a financial standpoint, each cancelled match erases approximately ₹100-125 crore in combined sponsorship, broadcast and match day income, leaving a net shortfall of ₹50-60 crore per game even after insurance claims,” says Amitt Sharma, Founder & CEO, VDO.AI.
Of course, the broadcaster has the option to offer alternative slots — for instance, carrying over the spending to the next season or allocating it to other properties, preferably sports-related, on the platform.
JioStar had signed on 20 brand sponsors for IPL 2025 across sectors such as FMCG, e-commerce and electronics, including brands such as My11Circle, SBI, PhonePe, Google Search, among others. Sponsors with long-term, multi-crore deals are exposed to a bigger financial risk if the tournament doesn’t resume. Some estimates say, multiple cancellations could trigger a 5-8% pullback in H1 marketing budgets.
The financial hit could extend to teams that rely heavily on the central revenue pool comprising broadcast, digital and league sponsorship rights for income, points out Yasin Hamidani, director, Media Care Brand Solutions. In 2024, central rights revenue comprised 70% of IPL teams’ revenue on an average. The most vulnerable are Rajasthan Royals (which earned Rs 553.6 crore from central rights, accounting for 84% of its total income), Delhi Capitals (which earned ₹579.3 crore, accounting for 75%) and Mumbai Indians (which earned Rs 525.8 crore, accounting for 71% of its total earnings).
Taurani pegs the loss that teams will suffer at about 20%, which would include a hit to ticket sales, merchandise and other match-day revenues.
One option for broadcasters and advertisers in such a scenario, say experts, would be to invoke the force majeure clause to mitigate their financial losses. “Force majeure has become increasingly common in contracts over the past 4-5 years, especially with references to acts of war,” says Dhruv Suri, partner, PSA Legal. “From an advertiser’s perspective, the key question is whether payments can be withheld or recovered. If payments have already been made, now is the time to document intent. Similar interpretations were made during Covid. Ultimately, it’s a contract-specific issue.”
Brand marketers, meanwhile, are reassessing plans. “Some are quietly panicking,” says Rohit Sakunia, founder, ArtE Mediatech, “but there are a bunch who are redirecting budgets, tweaking messages, and seeking attention where they can find it.”
Spitze by Everyday, which has partnered with Royal Challengers Bengaluru to promote its kitchen solutions, is holding off on IPL-centric advertising for now. “The pause may dent short-term sales in seasonal categories,” says Nirmal Paresh Lunagaria, director of the company’s sales and marketing. “But we will resume when the tournament does. Scrapping the IPL would affect visibility, not long-term strategy.”
Ambika Sharma, founder and chief strategist, Pulp Strategy, reckons a lot of the deferred IPL monies would be channelled into the highly competitive festive season, especially with Diwali and the end-of-year cycle becoming the next big window to reclaim impact.
For some marketers, a strategic downtime could lead to some soul searching. “This is a time for brands to act like corporate citizens, not just advertisers,” says Amrita Bansal, assistant professor, marketing at IMI. That would help build long-term association with consumers, she says.
It would force attention into potential gaps in platform dependence and lead to strategies that are more adaptable, points out Dhiraj Gupta, co-founder and CTO, mFilterIt.
For its part, the BCCI does have a disruption playbook to go by. In 2021, a surge in Covid-19 cases forced a mid-season suspension, with the tournament resuming months later in the UAE. Even earlier, the IPL was relocated to South Africa in 2009 and partially to the UAE in 2014, both times due to national elections.