IPL2020 – Are the franchisees ready for Fan Merchandise play?

External factors like the pandemic & cross border tension has significantly dented two critical sources of revenues for the IPL Franchisees – Central sponsorship & Match-day. With just about 6 weeks to go for IPL2020, the franchisees should be doubling down on their effort towards Commercial sources (merchandise, sponsorships, brand partnerships etc).

But, are they? Here is a status check on fan merchandise:

– 4 out of 8 teams haven’t yet launched their merchandise
– 6 out of 8 teams doesn’t have brand partnership for merchandise
– 7 out of 8 teams does not have collectibles/souvenirs & cricket accessories in their assortment
– Only 3 out of 8 teams have merchandise partner

Globally successful league franchisees get 40%+ revenues from Commercial sources with merchandise contributing to as high as 20%. The number for the same for IPL Franchisees is significantly lower. Hence, it is high time the team owners do more to grow revenues from fan merchandise.