One more year and one more ICC event is loading. This means one more opportunity for cricket’s governing body to make millions of dollars. Have you ever wondered how the ICC makes money to carry out such global events, year after year? Well, the simple answer is through media rights, sponsors, and event hosting fees.
The point is that many people don’t understand how the ICC earns its revenue. This article gives in-depth knowledge about how deep the ICC’s pockets are, the revenue distribution model, and how billion-dollar deals are made within minutes.
An ICC event isn’t just about entertainment on the cricket pitch, it goes beyond that off it. From jaw-dropping sponsorships to ticketing treasures to merchandise madness, an ICC event is a money-minting machine.
ICC revenues from the World Cup
a) Broadcasting and media rights:
A massive chunk of the ICC’s profits come from broadcasting and media rights. Disney Star has bagged the broadcast rights for all the ICC events from 2023 to 2027 for $3 billion. Wait, that’s not all, there’s more.
What’s in the ICC’s kitty?
- Total ICC sponsors/partners: 20+
- Global Partners: $8-10 million
- Official Partner: $6-8 million
- Category partner: $3-4 million
At the 2023 Men’s ODI World Cup held in India, the ICC earned a staggering $150 million only in sponsorship revenue. With 20-plus sponsors and partners on board, with alongside, India as hosts, there was no doubt, the ICC would have filled its coffers with loads of money.
Some of the brands associated with the ICC are MRF Tyres, Mastercard, Royal Stag, Dream11, and many others, making the global event, a sponsorship juggernaut.
Second, comes ticket sales. The ICC earns a massive share of the global ticket sales from the whole event. As many as 15-20 Lakh fans are expected to attend the 2024 T20 World Cup in the US and the West Indies. This means the global body stands at earning another $100 million and more.
Last but not least comes the merchandise. Fan Code backed by DreamSports is the official partner for merchandising at the ICC events. The larger the sale, the bigger the share of the pie for the ICC. Though there are no official numbers behind it, expect the ICC to add $50-60 million to its bank account.
Money Distribution – what about the winners?
There has been no official statement regarding the prize pot for the 2024 T20 World Cup. England, the winners of the 2022 edition in Australia, received $1.6 million out of the total prize money of $5.6 million. This time, the prize pool is expected to be a bigger one, with 20 teams participating, and the ICC has bucketloads of money in their bank accounts.
The tournament will last for close to a month in the US and the West Indies. With 55 matches scheduled, including the final, expect the ICC to mint every second of the global event, and make anywhere between $130 million and $140 million.
It’s that time of the year when the countdown for the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup has begun. The tournament is slated to take place in the West Indies and the US, starting from June 02. A total of 20 teams will be participating in the mega event, hoping to win the coveted trophy.
2024 Men’s T20 World Cup Group
Group A: India, Pakistan, Ireland, Canada, USA
Group B: England, Australia, Namibia, Scotland, Oman
Group C: New Zealand, West Indies, Afghanistan, Uganda, PNG
Group D: South Africa, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Netherlands, Nepal
