![10.jpg](https://steemitimages.com/DQmWub5KoSBGLCgzzNpU5fRiP2za19T4xBKwuUNJ72G6oCQ/10.jpg)
This year, the Indian Premier League (IPL), an event already extremely popular and entertaining, beats all records not only on the quality of the game, but also on attracted money.

A few indicative statistics: the audience of the opening match grew by 37% compared to last year, advertising sales doubled, and eight participating teams spent about $ 94 million to buy 169 players (last year 66 players were bought for $ 14 million).

IPL is an annual 48-day cricket tournament, in which the best players from around the world participate, CNBC tells. For TV viewers, it is especially attractive that the tournament is played in the format Twenty20: each game lasts about 3 hours, while other formats of cricket assume games lasting from one to five days.

The turning point for IPL was September 2017, when Star India acquired the rights to broadcast matches for 5 years, starting in 2018, for an unprecedented $ 2.55 billion. Thus, the Indian Premier League for Cricket has become one of the most expensive sporting events in the world . Soon the popularity of IPL reacted and Facebook, paying $ 600 million for rights to online broadcasting for 5 years. Thus, the IPL already looks worthy next to such weighty sports tournaments as the English Premier League and the American National Basketball Association.

IPL has a significant impact on the economy of India as a whole. Thanks to her workplaces are provided with coaches, players, service personnel, as well as specialists from auxiliary industries - tourism, logistics, etc. The 2015 tournament increased India's GDP by $ 182 million, and given the recent solid investment in the league, it can be predicted that in 2018 this amount will be significantly larger.

Investments from Star India in Indian cricket will turn out to be big benefits for all parties. For many years, many teams from IPL risked, getting into debt in order to buy the right players. But now everyone is guaranteed profit - the uncertainty associated with the commercial viability of the IPL has ended.

And what about Star India itself? Providing the Premier League team with a profit, will the company be able to earn money? Star India has developed a marketing strategy to monetize every aspect of IPL, starting with the auctions of players and ending with live broadcasts of matches on 10 TV channels and on the Internet. It is expected that this year the audience of the tournament will be about 700 million viewers, and advertising revenues will exceed $ 300 million.

However, the initial cost of advertising in the Premier League is enormous, and not every advertiser can afford it. Nevertheless, according to some sources, Star India sold 90% of its advertising space before the IPL.