Mumbai, March 24 -- The 19th edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL) begins this weekend, where all eyes will be on the defending champions Royal Challengers Bengaluru, who clinched their first ever win last year. Meanwhile, there are big-name investors, including Temasek, EQT, Premji Invest, Adar Poonawalla and a couple of US-based sports investors, vying for stake in the Rajasthan Royals and Royal Challengers teams. Besides team owners, advertisers and broadcasters are also keeping an eye on how the economics of the IPL plays out.

However, even as earning from avenues such as advertising and team sponsorships continues to grow, data shows media rights revenues are still under pressure. As a new media rights cycle will begin in 2028,...