Debunking suggestions that Board of Control for Cricket in India was becoming a casualty of the super success of IPL, its Commissioner Lalit Modi today said it still has a long way to go and claimed the league would grow five-six times in size in the next four years.
"Not true," he said when asked if BCCI was becoming a casualty of IPL's super success and added that their numbers were far greater.
"IPL has a revenue of only Rs six crore a day whereas BCCI earns a revenue of Rs 32.5 crore a day from broadcasting alone. We are no where near and BCCI will always remain ahead," Modi said.
He said that IPL would grow to the present level of BCCI in next three to five years but "BCCI will also grow further at that time. BCCI is the pinnacle of cricket in the world and is performing. IPL has a long way to go."
Going ahead, BCCI would become the richest sporting body in the world in coming years, he said adding IPL's competition was not with the parent body but with the entire entertainment industry.
"You have host of soap operas at prime time on TV and that is the time when our matches commence.
We have the highest TRP rating and going by the trends, these will only increase," he said.
Elaborating further, Modi said that IPL's revenue was bound to go as it continues to expand its viewership through overseas television networks and through internet.
"We are building our fan base and advertisers would not come across the world," he said adding that on top of this the league had negligible cost base and other infrastructure facilities unlike the European football and hockey clubs.
"They own huge stadium and have to maintain them, whereas IPL gives the team these play fields at free of cost," he said.
From next year, there would be 90 matches in a season as against 60 now as a result of inclusion of two new teams and it has been proven that the revenue of IPL was directly proportional to the number of matches.
"High bids for two new teams, which are more than three times the top bid three years ago, proves the potential of IPL," he said adding that even at these high bids teams were eventually going to earn under the present revenue sharing arrangement.
Majority of the earnings of IPL go to the teams while a part of it would also go to the coffers of BCCI.
Modi said that IPL would generate a revenue of about a billion dollars this year compared to about $450 million last year.
