The new year begins with considerable excitement as the decks are getting cleared for the launch of a brand new sporting property – the Women’s Indian Premier League (WIPL). The dates are closing in with the deadline for registration of an auction set on January 26, while the auction itself will be held in February. Reports are that Chennai Super Kings, Punjab Kings, Rajasthan Royals, Kolkata Knight Riders and Delhi Capitals will put in bids though as yet it’s all speculative.

There seems to be considerable interest in owning a team. What about marketers? Last year, IPL became the world’s second most valuable sporting property with insane branding power and super high viewership. Will its extension — the Women’s IPL — attract enough eyeballs to catch the interest of advertisers?

Perfect timing

The timing is certainly good. 2022 was a record year for women’s sports globally – with both participation and viewership surging phenomenally.

Naresh Gupta, Managing Partner, Bang in the Middle, is pretty gung-ho about WIPL’s prospects, “With IPL becoming possibly the most powerful brand, a women’s version was only a matter of time. I see this adding a huge amount of value to the whole IPL brand.”

He adds, “A host of D2C brands along with traditional spenders like handsets, auto and beverages will evaluate women’s IPL and make substantial investments. The thing with IPL is that it not only attracts the cricket purist and enthusiasts, it also attracts a lot of viewers who have a passing interest in the sport. Women’s IPL will only expand this pool.”

However, Sandeep Goyal, Managing Director, Rediffusion, is more cautious. “Unless brands have clarity that the women’s IPL will attract a significant female viewership, the media potential of the event will become limited. A right balance between the kind of brands that can advertise on women’s IPL and the ones who actually get there is needed,” he says.

His concern is that the talent pool is not deep enough to make the event competitive. “The women’s IPL has been in the works for a long time and got delayed because there are not enough women cricket players in the country. Even when it comes to gully cricket, there are more boys than girls playing on the streets,” he says. “We need to have 100-200 top-notch women players.”

But Gupta feels this could change if WIPL is set in motion.” There is already a substantial following for players like Smriti and Yastika. There would be more. And with social media and things like influencer content, loads of superstars will be born. With WIPL there will be an opportunity for the game itself to expand. There will be new players who will emerge. More ground level academies will come up. It can only be a good thing for the game.”

While most marketers sound interested, they do admit that a lot depends on the media rights. Speculation is rife that it could go for ₹250 crore with BCCI eyeing ₹10-11 crore per match.

Media rights

As Anisha Motwani, Founder, Storm the Norm Ventures, says, “Brands are in wait and watch mode. Everybody is waiting for the media rights for the Women’s IPL to get allotted and that I believe will set a benchmark. Once the baseline gets established, it will determine how big this event will become in terms of dollars the media rights holder put behind it. The kind of money a channel pays to get the rights will determine how they will position women’s IPL and if it is going to be sold at a premium.”

“The other key thing that will shape the future of the women’s IPL will be whether it leads to an emergence of icons and role models. So that brands can get behind them to associate with them for their campaigns,” she adds.

Santosh N, Managing Director, D and P Advisory, which has valued the IPL ecosystem at $10.9 billion, believes that the women’s IPL will give BCCI an opportunity to develop an untapped market of women viewers. “There is a possibility that it will help garner women viewership for the game and therefore will have a positive rub-off effect on the IPL ecosystem. Over the long term, this will also offer women more attractive career opportunities in cricket. Quantitatively too, the women’s IPL will have a positive impact on the overall IPL ecosystem. We will need to see how things shape up in the coming days.”