Lalit Modi, The Founder - IPL .. Episode 2, The Playbook

The Sports Entrepreneurs Podcast by Marcus Luer

Lalit Modi, the founder of the IPL (Indian Premier League), sharing his in-depth recount and incredible details on how the IPL was created in this episode. How he orchestrated everything from the players, media deals, team owners to sponsors, and all within a few months.

Key Highlights

1. Recap of Episode #1
2. Putting an “A team” together to make the IPL a reality, bringing IMG into the group (on success basis), finding the best experts from around the world, etc
3. Learning from the best Leagues in the world to create a new franchise model
4. First on the agenda, securing the top 100 players from around the world – challenges with scheduling of other Cricket globally
5. Window from March-May was identified and locked in
6. Creating the auction process and selling the idea to the players – brackets for players created – Minimum/Maximum cap spend on players USD 4- 5.5 mil by teams
7. “Controversy” a key component of his strategy – keep media and people talking and guessing (free PR)
8. “14 days” of playing Cricket - players paid per day – USD 20k – 100k per day and some as high as USD 200k – so over USD 2 mil for the whole season
9. Lots of resistance at first with Media Owners – Nimbus thought they should own it because of the deal with the BCCI, black listed Murdoch (Fox), Zee TV already started ICL (competing competition)
   1. Need to create interest and competition with other broadcasters and agencies (aiming for USD 1 billion over 10 years)
   2. WSG (World Sports Group) bid USD 1b (both domestic and global rights) – partnered with SONY for year 1 in India
   3. Mapped out advertising inventory during the Match time
   4. Right to broadcast only, production done by League, etc
   5. Target USD 59 million in Year one as minimum to pay Teams (de-risk the purchase of team franchises – min USD 50 mil per franchise was his target (paid over 10 yrs)
   6. Key – an 8 pm ICT start, not to compete with other Indian Cricket afternoon slots – targeting Bollywood and entertainment budgets and appeal to Women in the household (who control the TV remote control at that time slot in the Indian household in those days)
10. Next target – Team owners and the right profile – Shah Rukh Khan became key , Mukesh & Anil Ambani, Vijay Mallya, etc
    1. Bid for all cities allowed, highest bidder wins, if bidder wins more than one city, bidder can chose which city he wants to take
    2. Bids ranged from USD 65-120 mil (for 10 yrs)
    3. Open process – in front of media and cameras
    4. Teams don’t own Stadiums – not allowed
11. Shah Rukh Khan – Nokia – sponsors his team and how that helped with upfront funding
12. Everything done between January – April before the first ball was played
13. Principal Sponsor deals for the League – USD 10 mil per year for title, USD 8 mil for associate – and stories behind it
14. No open Media access to the matches – deliberate “controversy” strategy
15. At the time already secured – USD 100 mil cheque for media (Year 1), USD 75 mil (10% of franchise fee) before it even started (not including sponsorship yet)
16. Bidding process for Sponsorship rights (Hero Honda, DLF, etc) – DLF Indian Premier League
    1. Associate sponsor deals – Citi, Vodaphone, Kingfisher, etc
17. Opening Ceremony and first game - Shah Rukh Khan vs Vijay Mallya
18. Sony struggling to get distribution across the country – not nationwide yet. On day of first game, Lalit opens the doors to all media to cover the game. Sony furious.
    1. 100% TV coverage across India, all over the news and press
    2. Shah Rukh Khan’s teams win – Bollywood stars celebrating on the field – huge success
19. Sony distribution went through the roof. IPL was an instant success from then on
20. Secret sauce – Competitive high profile owners, Shah Rukh Khan for entertainment and women audience, music, cheerleaders, etc
21. To be continued…….

About

1. Globally recognized leader, Executive Director of Modi Enterprises, with business interests across nearly every industry vertical. Built a billion-dollar brand in less than a year, launched a revolution to Indian broadcast entertainment, and negotiated partnerships with ESPN, Disney, Google, Ten Sports, B4U, Fashion TV, Voyages TV, Buena Vista Television, United Artists, Marvel, Nike and others.
2. International business strategist who catalyzes transformation and change by capitalizing on unmet demand in domestic and overseas markets. Embraces technology and creates opportunities to enrich lives, create sustainable revenue, and optimize productivity through integration of emerging platforms in social and digital.
3. An entrepreneur at heart with a phenomenal ability to connect people and ideas into revenue-generating enterprises, an active member of the board for one of the oldest and most successful industrial conglomerates in India, and the thought- leader behind radical change in India’s leading Cricket administration, the BCCI.
4. Recognized by Time, Sports Illustrated, Business Week, Forbes, Business Standard, and other influential global media outlets for launch of the Indian Premier League (IPL), one of world’s most popular Cricket organizations.
5. Was Awarded ‘Indian of the Century” by India Today in
6. Forbes nominated Modi as “Rainmaker of the Century”
7. Against extensive political and economic challenges, brought IPL to South Africa, and sustained the same phenomenal levels of viewership and attendance despite the move.
8. Columbia University and Stanford University Both did case studies on Modi, which are still being taught in Universities across the world.
9. Created billions dollar opportunities, and played an integral role in shaping the cultural direction of Modern India as visionary behind transformational changes in broadcast, sports, entertainment, and consumer products.

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