{"id":5103,"date":"2026-07-29T07:37:38","date_gmt":"2026-07-29T07:37:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/relocationobserver.com\/?p=5103"},"modified":"2026-07-29T07:37:38","modified_gmt":"2026-07-29T07:37:38","slug":"royal-challengers-bengaluru-rajasthan-royals-sales-push-ipl-crickets-business-value-to-20-6-billion-houlihan-lokey-study-finds","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/relocationobserver.com\/?p=5103","title":{"rendered":"Royal Challengers Bengaluru, Rajasthan Royals Sales Push IPL Cricket\u2019s Business Value to $20.6 Billion, Houlihan Lokey Study Finds"},"content":{"rendered":"
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\n\tThe Indian Premier League cricket tournament\u2019s business value has climbed to $20.6 billion, up 11.4% year over year, according to Houlihan Lokey\u2019s 2026 IPL Valuation Study released Wednesday, as record-setting sales of Royal Challengers Bengaluru and Rajasthan Royals reset franchise pricing across the league.<\/p>\n

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\n\tThe league\u2019s stand-alone brand value rose 10.3% to $4.3 billion, marking a second consecutive year of double-digit growth for both metrics. The report placed the 2026 figures in historical context: the IPL\u2019s business value stood at $15.4 billion in 2023, $16.4 billion in 2024 and $18.5 billion in 2025. On a per-match basis, Houlihan Lokey noted, only the NFL ranks ahead of the IPL globally.<\/p>\n

\n\tThe 2026 season\u2019s defining commercial event was the sale of two franchises. Royal Challengers Bengaluru was acquired in March by a consortium including the Aditya Birla Group, the Times of India Group, David Blitzer\u2019s Bolt Ventures and Blackstone\u2019s BXPE for $1.78 billion, the most expensive single IPL franchise transaction on record. The deal, in an all-cash structure, came after seller United Spirits Limited had targeted $2 billion. Rajasthan Royals followed in May, sold to the Mittal family and Serum Institute of India CEO Adar Poonawalla for $1.65 billion, after an initial agreement with a U.S.-based consortium led by Kal Somani collapsed during exclusivity. Together the two deals total $3.43 billion.<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cThe most telling development this year did not come from our models; it came from the market. Two franchises changed hands \u2013 Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) for $1.78 billion and Rajasthan Royals (RR) for $1.65 billion \u2013 and the buyers, from Blackstone and the Aditya Birla Group to ArcelorMittal, the Serum Institute, and the global sports investor David Blitzer, are precisely the caliber of capital we have long argued the league was built to attract,\u201d said Harsh Talikoti, director in Houlihan Lokey\u2019s financial and valuation advisory business.<\/p>\n

\n\tThe report found viewership undergoing what it called a platform migration rather than a decline. Total reach across television and digital hit 1.06 billion screens, up 7% year over year, even as linear television ratings fell 18.8% and average per-match viewership on television dropped 26%. Total IPL 2026 revenue projections, including broadcasting rights, sponsorships and ticket sales, exceed $1.8 billion.<\/p>\n

\n\tAt the franchise level, RCB topped both the brand value and business value rankings for the first time in league history, its brand worth rising 16% to $312 million on the strength of back-to-back IPL and Women\u2019s Premier League titles. Mumbai Indians ranked second at $264 million despite a ninth-place finish, while Kolkata Knight Riders overtook Chennai Super Kings for the No. 3 brand spot at $245 million. Sunrisers Hyderabad and Rajasthan Royals rounded out the top six, both securing playoff berths, while Lucknow Super Giants finished last on both business and brand value at $122 million following Rishabh Pant\u2019s decision to step down as captain.<\/p>\n

\n\tSatyan Gajwani, co-owner of Royal Challengers Bengaluru and chair of Times Internet, said the franchise\u2019s fan engagement drove the acquisition decision. \u201cRCB\u2019s fanbase intensity and connection are unparalleled, which made this a special opportunity,\u201d Gajwani said.<\/p>\n

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\n\tNess Wadia, co-owner of Punjab Kings and one of the league\u2019s founding investors since 2008, said the IPL remains in its early stages of growth. \u201cI still think the IPL is only getting started,\u201d Wadia said.<\/p>\n

\n\tBeyond the headline transactions, the report examined what it described as the league\u2019s structural appeal to private equity relative to other global sports properties. The BCCI places no cap on private equity ownership of an IPL franchise and imposes no minimum hold period, in contrast with the NFL\u2019s 10% per-fund limit, the NBA\u2019s 20% cap and the Bundesliga\u2019s 50+1 rule limiting outside investors to a 49% economic interest. Each franchise also receives roughly $55 million annually from the BCCI\u2019s centrally negotiated media pool before any team-level revenue is counted, a structure the report likened to a contracted annuity.<\/p>\n

\n\tNon-media revenue such as team sponsorships, gate receipts and international expansion is also growing quickly. Houlihan Lokey said non-media revenues have expanded at a 22% compound annual rate since the pandemic, with several IPL owners acquiring stakes in England\u2019s The Hundred, including Reliance Industries\u2019 purchase of a stake in Oval Invincibles and Sun Group\u2019s acquisition of Northern Superchargers.<\/p>\n

\n\tHoulihan Lokey projected the league\u2019s 2028-32 media rights cycle, currently valued at $6.2 billion, could grow by 80% to 100%, citing an uninterrupted 18% compound annual growth rate in rights value since 2008 and expanding international viewership.<\/p>\n

\n\tThat estimate cuts against a separate forecast from Media Partners Asia, which projected in a March report that the 2028\u201332 cycle would instead hold flat at approximately $5.4 billion, with per-match value declining 13%, from $13.2 million to $11.5 million, as the league\u2019s expanded 94-match format dilutes individual game value. MPA attributed the flattening to the JioStar merger of Viacom18 and Disney Star, which it said removed the competitive tension between bidders that drove the 2022 auction\u2019s near-threefold increase, and warned that rights holders in the current cycle face cumulative losses of $1.8\u20132 billion.<\/p>\n

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Houlihan Lokey’s 2026 study finds IPL business value at $20.6 billion after Royal Challengers Bengaluru sold for a record $1.78 billion.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":5102,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[60],"tags":[4056],"class_list":["post-5103","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-sports","tag-indian-premier-league-2"],"yoast_head":"\nRoyal Challengers Bengaluru, Rajasthan Royals Sales Push IPL Cricket\u2019s Business Value to $20.6 Billion, Houlihan Lokey Study Finds - Relocation Observer<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/relocationobserver.com\/?p=5103\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Royal Challengers Bengaluru, Rajasthan Royals Sales Push IPL Cricket\u2019s Business Value to $20.6 Billion, Houlihan Lokey Study Finds - 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