The Indian Premier League (IPL), long considered the country’s leading media and marketing power, has experienced a rare correction phase. According to D&P Advisory’s 2025 report, the overall valuation of the cash-rich tournament has declined for two consecutive years for the first time in its history.
Despite a recent decline in its valuation, the IPL remains India’s largest sports property. The 2025 season attracted more than 1 billion viewers across television and digital platforms. Notably, digital audiences have surpassed television for the first time. JioStar reported 1.19 billion unique viewers and 55.2 million peak concurrent streams.
IPL valuation declines for the second year in a row
According to D&P Advisory’s IPL-WPL 2025 valuation report, titled “Beyond 22 Yards: The Power of Platforms, the Price of Regulation”, the valuation of the IPL has declined for the first time in its history over two consecutive years.
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The value of the league increased from ₹92,500 crore ($11.2 billion) in 2023 to ₹82,700 crore ($9.9 billion) in 2024, and then to ₹76,100 crore ($8.8 billion) in 2025.
The report said the decline of ₹16,400 crore was a structural reset of India’s cricket economy, driven by a combination of media consolidation and the government’s ban on real money gaming (RMG) sponsorships, which affected the IPL’s previously rapid growth trajectory.
IPL fundamentals remain strong – Santosh N, Managing Partner at D&P Advisory
In 2024, Reliance Industries merged its media assets with Walt Disney’s operations in India, forming JioStar after the Disney Star-Viacom merger18. Television and digital rights are now consolidated on a single platform, reducing bidding for IPL broadcast and streaming rights.
India introduced the Promotion and Regulation of Online Gaming Act, 2025, which bans advertising and sponsorship of real money (RMG) online games, thereby eliminating around ₹1,500-2,000 crore in annual IPL sponsorship expenditure. Platforms like Dream11 have made major deals.
Santosh N of D&P Advisory said advertising sales would remain feasible, but pricing pressure would likely persist and growth in media rights would continue at a slower and more moderate pace than in previous years.
“The fundamentals of the IPL remain strong,” Santosh said. “But even if selling advertising inventory is not a problem, the pricing environment will remain under pressure.” He added that while media rights will continue to appreciate, the pace and scale of this growth will be lower than anticipated.
RCB tops IPL 2025 franchise brand rankings, followed by MI and CSK
In 2025, Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) topped the IPL brand rankings after winning their first IPL title. They were followed by Mumbai Indians, Chennai Super Kings, Kolkata Knight Riders and Gujarat Titans.
The report added that Indian cricket is now entering a new phase where growth will rely less on big increases in media rights and more on stable revenues, strong sponsorship deals and active digital engagement.
The Women’s Premier League (WPL) in particular demonstrated even more stability. Its total value in 2025 was ₹1,275 crore ($148 million), down slightly from ₹1,350 crore ($160 million) in 2024.
Despite a slight decline in value, TV viewership grew 150% year-over-year and digital engagement increased 70% during the opening match. This period for the WPL is considered “consolidation not contraction”.
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