The 2008 Indian Premier League season was the debut season of the Indian Premier League, established

by the BCCI in 2007. The season commenced on the 18 April 2008 with the final match held on 1 June 2008. As the time advanced this version of cricket has become more popular as a "Paisa League" rather than retaining its own name, Indian Premier League. This has happened due to some much of money flowing into it by big Hot Shots of Bollywod and Corporate Giants. IPL is already worth more than $2 billion and counting, says UK based brand valuation consultancy Brand Finance. The IPL brand alone has a value of over $311.94 million, according to a Brand Finance report, source ET. With cricket-crazy Indians lapping up the slam-bang version of the gentlemans game, IPL has generated huge economic value for both its owner, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), and the eight team franchisees. And it has set the stage for the franchisees to list their teams on the stock market. The ultimate proof of the success of IPL Branded System will come when the franchisees decide to list their teams. This is a real possibility at least in the next 2-3 years, Unni Krishnan, managing director of Brand Finance India, said. The example of the English Premier League football teams, a number of which are listed, is there to follow, he added. Why not? The most-valued IPL team surprise, surprise! Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR), which is languishing at the bottom of the table in the second edition of IPL, currently going on in South Africa, has a brand value of $42.1 million. Clearly, the efforts of celebrity co-owner Shah Rukh Khan at hard selling the KKR brand seem to have more than made up for the teams poor on-field performance. The report suggests that KKR and Rajasthan Royals the winners of the first edition have been excellent on the branding front, with both franchises reporting a high brand value as a proportion of the franchise fee committed by their owners for the first 10 years. Rajasthan Royals brand value of $39.5 million at 59% of its franchise fee of $67 million, makes the reigning champions part-owned by Bollywood actor Shilpa Shetty IPLs most profitable investment. Interestingly, Rajasthan Royals had a slow start in the second edition before recovering on time to move up to the fifth position as on Saturday, May 2. In stark contrast, Hyderabad Deccan Chargers (DC), which is leading the table so far in IPL-2, and Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB), two rather expensive teams, are the least profitable. Deccan Chronicle Holdings-owned DC has a current brand value of $34.8 million, or 33%, of its $107-million franchise fee while liquor baron Vijay Mallya-owned RCBs brand value stands at

34% to its $111.6-million franchise fee. These teams can improve their value by doing well on the field. For, according to the study, the biggest challenge facing the various franchisees is the creation of a loyal fan base so crucial to create positive relationships that lead to increased revenues. And for that they need good performances on field, not just celebrity brand ambassadors.