IPL 3 - Printing money......

As the IPL juggernaut continues to criss cross the length and breadth of India, the unmistakable sound of cash registers ringing to the tune of banked money accompanies each team on every flight.

In my previous column I explained the big picture of how the franchises aim to survive financially in the long run and go the distance.

This week I will dig deeper and look closer at the financial benefits that are split among the teams and uncover some extraordinary numbers that this walking billboard attracts.

There are two main streams of revenue. There is the Central Revenue Pool which is totalled and divided amongst the teams, and the Local Revenue Pool which is franchise specific and enables localised sponsorship deals to be negotiated.

During the inaugural IPL the TV rights sale of US$1 billion for 10 years was the only source of income from the Central Revenue Pool for the teams. That expanded to US$1.6 billion in season two.

This year those numbers have been blown out of the water as companies line up to sponsor the league and get aboard the IPL runaway train.

Before I further investigate the bigger pool, the Central Revenue Pool, let me explain the advantages of tapping into the more isolated Local Revenue Pool.

Each team is permitted an unlimited number of individual team sponsors, and while the more that adorn the shirts the greater the chance of dilution, this has not detracted from those clambering over each other to get a piece of the action.

The Kolkata Knight Riders lead the pack on this one with 12 individual sponsors that bring in a combined figure of US$12 million. The Chennai Super Kings are next with 10 sponsors worth US$9.5 million, followed by the Mumbai Indians and the Delhi Daredevils worth US$8.4 million each.

In the first year of the IPL in 2008 the total number of individual team sponsors was 40 and it grew to 69 in season two. IPL edition three has now attracted some 80 team sponsors eager for their occasional few seconds exposure on the box.

Now take a few deep breaths and read on as I astound you with details of the additional other major sponsorship deals that now make up the all important Central Revenue Pool. This is the monetary source that warms the cockles of the heart of the team owners' ever present number crunchers .

Remember that US$1 billion ten year TV rights sale sits front and centre in this pool before any other benefit is considered.

In addition to that, a sum of US$70 million has been generated for the sale of screenings of IPL games for a period of ten years to cinema halls and bars.

The sale of internet rights to You Tube for two years was worth US$7 million.

A sponsorship for After Match IPL Parties where compulsory attendance of both teams is required sold for US$2.5 million for this year.

The sale of the rights for spin off branded shows such as IPL Fear Factor, IPL Rockstar and IPL Awards Nights attracted US$21 million this season.

A deal worth US$3.1 million was sold to MRF for 24 matches when their blimp floats high in the sky and attracts television time.

A massive US$12 million goes into the coffers for those 10 second mid over television commercials over the 60 games this year.

The sponsored Maxx Mobile time outs attract US$4 million for the year and a new central sponsor Karbonn Mobiles forks out US$42 million over five years.

DLF as title sponsor have also locked in for five years for US$42 million while associate sponsors Hero Honda, Vodaphone and Citibank chime in with US$5.2 million each for five years.

It is patently obvious that a potent combination of entertainment, cricket and business, sprinkled with a dash or two of celebrity and stardom, paraded on Indian soil is a heady cocktail of success.

Cheers.