IPL valued at over $2-bn; KKR richest team

New Delhi:

Shahrukh Khan's Kolkata Knight Riders may be struggling at the bottom in the second season of Indian Premier League, but in terms of brand value it is the richest team of the twenty-twenty cricket tournament, whose collective valuation has been now pegged at US$ two billion.

At the same time, Rajasthan Royals, partly owned by another Bollywood star Shilpa Shetty, has emerged as the best team in terms of return on investment, although it is ranked third in terms of brand value.

The valuation exercise of the entire IPL franchise, along with the individual teams, have been conducted by UK-based international brand valuation consultancy Brand Finance Plc.

"The entire enterprise is valued at US$2.01 billion," Brand Finance said, adding, its methodology took into account various revenue lines such as broadcasting, IPL sponsorship, team sponsorship, merchandising and gate receipts as well as the effect of performance, the catchment population of the city, the capacity of the stadium and the presence of iconic players.

Among the eight teams, KKR has been ranked as the most valued with a brand value of US$42.1 million, followed by Mumbai Indians (US$41.6 million), Rajasthan Royals (US$39.5 million), Chennai Super Kings (US$39.4 million), Delhi Daredevils (US$39.2 million), Royal Challengers Bangalore (US$37.4 million), Kings X1 Punjab (US$36.3 million) and Hyderabad Deccan Chargers (US$34.8 million).

In the ongoing tournament, KKR is, however, ranked at the bottom with just one win out of the nine matches played so far, while Chennai Superkings is leading the tally.

In terms of franchise fees, Mumbai Indians is the most expensive team (US$111.9 million), followed by Vijay Mallya-owned Royal Challengers (US$111.6 million), Deccan Chargers (US$107 million), Chennai Super Kings (US$91 million), Delhi Daredevils (US$84 million), Kings X1 (US$76 million), KKR (US$75.1 million) and Rajasthan Royals (US$67 million).

"Despite propping up the bottom of this year's edition of the IPL taking place in South Africa, the Kolkata Knight Riders are the most valuable franchise brand at US$42.1 million. Celebrity co-owner Shah Rukh Khan's hard-selling of the KKR brand has counteracted the team's poor on-field performance," Brand Finance said.

At the same time, Rajasthan Royal's brand value of US$39.5 million at 59 per cent of its franchise fee of US$67 million, makes the reigning champions IPL's most profitable investment.

"When determining our brand ratings we have paid particular attention the ability of the franchises to generate advertising revenue, as well as the potential size of their support base. Rajasthan and Kolkata scored highly in these respective measures," Brand Finance's sports analyst Alexander Bird said.

"The success of each franchise will ultimately depend on its ability to attract and retain supporters who come to watch the team, and not just the players," Bird added.

The IPL brand alone has a value of over US$311 million and has generated huge economic value for its owner, the Board of Control for Cricket in India, and the eight team franchisees, Brand Finance said in its report.

"The ultimate proof of the success of the IPL Branded System will come when the franchisees decide to list their teams. This is a real possibility in the next 2-3 years," Brand Finance India Managing Director Unni Krishnan said.

In terms of sponsors Mumbai Indians can boast of having the maximum number as many as 11 of them -- Master Card, Idea, Royal Stag, Pepsi, Adidas, Zandu Balm, Gitanjali Jewellers, Red FM, Orbit, Luminous and Kingfisher.

While Shah Rukh Khan's Kolkata Knight Riders has 10 sponsors -- Nokia, Star Plus, Sprite, Reebok, TagHeuer, Belmonte, Gitanjali, Wrigleys Orbit, BILT and Planet M.

Meanwhile, Rajasthan Royals, though has the support of bollywood star Shilpa Shetty and is owned by Emerging India has only three sponsors -- Kingfisher, Boost and Puma.

Preity Zinta's team Kings XI Punjab has sponsors like --Emirates, Gulf Oil, netlinkblue, Dabur, Apeejay Group, Wrigleys and Reebok.