Indian Premier League T20 : Will UFO Make Money?

- Planet Bollywood Special Correspondant           Let us know what you think about this story

UFO has reportedly paid Rs. 330 crore for the screening rights of the IPL matches for 10 years. The rights also include the telecasting rights of the cricket matches in restaurants and pubs. UFO expects to recover Rs. 33 crore every year (Rs. 330 for 10 years means Rs. 33 crore per year, simplistically speaking) as follows:

On a conservative estimate, each of the six multiplex chains is expected to contribute Rs. 1.5 crore as UFO’s share during the 45-day run of the IPL matches. The net collections will be shared 50:50 between the multiplexes and UFO.

The total revenue from the six multiplex chains would, therefore be Rs. 9 crore. Single-screen cinemas can be expected to yield another Rs. 5 crore. Income from res­taurants and pubs is anticipated to be another Rs. 9 crore. Advertising revenue in the 45 days’ run is said to be in the region of Rs. 12 crore. All this means, a total return of Rs. 35 crore (Rs. 9 crore plus Rs. 5 crore plus Rs. 9 crore plus Rs. 12 crore) in the first year.

While this is what the optimists estimate to be a minimum return to UFO, pessimists feel that the revenues would fall far short of the expectations be­cause once the novelty of watching cricket on the big screen dies down, people will not be eager to spend Rs. 150 to 200 per ticket for a cricket match they can in any case watch for free on their TV sets at home. Incidentally, there is a move to screen the final few matches in 3D.

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