TV Viewership Increases By 25% As BCCI Earns Whopping INR 4,000 Crore From IPL 2020

Contrary to what the cricket world was speculating, the thirteenth edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL) was not only conducted this year amid the pandemic but was also a huge hit. The tournament was originally scheduled to be played between March and May.

But the BCCI had to postpone it in the wake of the coronavirus outbreak. The board then overcame several hurdles to conduct it in the UAE from September to November. Apart from the pandemic, there were some other setbacks too. Few days before the start of the tournament, Vivo suspended their deal with the BCCI and the latter had to find a new title sponsor.

But the Sourav Ganguly-led team succeeded in finding new sponsors and conducted the tournament in the gulf country without any more setbacks. Not a single coronavirus case was reported after the tournament started on September 19. It eventually came to an end on November 10.

Record viewership and revenue from IPL 2020:

The BCCI has received a huge revenue and viewership for successfully conducting IPL 2020 amid the pandemic.  The world’s richest cricket board garnered revenue of INR 4,000 crore and the television viewership soared up by 25 per cent.

“The Board managed to cut nearly 35 per cent of the cost as compared to the last IPL. We earned Rs 4,000 crore during the pandemic time. Our TV viewership went about 25 per cent higher, we got the highest-ever opening game (Mumbai Indians versus Chennai Super Kings) viewership.

“Those who doubted us came and thanked us for hosting the IPL. Had this IPL not happened, cricketers would have lost one year,” Dhumal was quoted as saying in The Indian Express.

Dhumal further stated that the board had its plan in place had any member from any of the eight teams tested positive for COVID-19. Fortunately, not a single squad member contracted the dreaded virus.

“In case we had any COVID cases, the board had booked 200 rooms separately so that patients can be quarantined and only join once they have fully recovered,” he stated.

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