Royal Challengers Bengaluru plans to expand its cricketing ecosystem

Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB), a popular and the third most valued franchise of the Indian Premier League (IPL), plans to broaden its cricket ecosystem by offering everything from branded items to fitness over the next few years, according to its chief operating officer Rajesh Menon.

The owners have plans to build a multi-faceted sports platform but no intention of extending its reach beyond cricket, Menon told Mint. This will include integrating merchandise, e-gaming, stadium venue bookings, online fitness platforms and more, he said.

RCB, owned by alcohol giant Diageo, has seen an 87% increase in brand value since the IPL’s inception in 2009. In the last year, its brand value has increased 67% to $117 million after Chennai Super Kings at $122 million and Mumbai Indians ($119 million).

“We’ve focused on building our brand, and now we’re looking to create a robust ecosystem around it," Menon said. “But we are not likely to go beyond cricket because we already resonate so well with young India. We have a strong partnership with sports brand Puma, for instance, and we’ve also launched our bars and cafes. That is where our ecosystem lies."

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The franchise's expansion into women's cricket is another key aspect of this broader vision. In 2024, RCB’s women’s cricket team made an immediate impact by clinching the Women’s Premier League (WPL) title in its debut season. Diageo India acquired the Bengaluru women’s franchise for ₹ 901 crore in 2023. Menon said RCB’s commitment to women’s cricket is long term and the company had bid for a WPL franchise even before any other potential buyers.

Committed to women's cricket

“We have been committed to women’s cricket from the start," he said. “From an IPL point of view, our sponsorships are already in place, and our focus is now mainly on the WPL team. We want to build this category."

Though RCB's women’s team is still in its nascent stages, Menon is confident that it will eventually prove profitable, following the same trajectory as the men’s team, which took seven years to break even. “The women’s team is already showing results. Money will follow later. We are happy that 18 women are inspiring millions of Indian women to play," he said.

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RCB plans to engage more fans by holding more matches in Bengaluru and promoting the stars of its women’s cricket team.

“We are also focused on making the stars of our women’s cricket team into individual heroes. We are looking at having more matches in our home city to create deeper engagement with fans," Menon said. “The men’s cricket team (led by Indian cricket star Virat Kohli) has evolved now and our women’s team needs grooming, so we are working on everything from social media and media training to every other part of the fan ecosystem."

On strong trajectory

Financially, RCB’s business is on a strong upward trajectory. In FY24, Royal Challengers Sports Pvt Ltd, a 100% subsidiary of Diageo-owned United Spirits Ltd, reported a revenue from operations of ₹634.7 crore from ₹244.2 crore in FY23. The company also posted a profit after tax of ₹221.8 crore against a loss of ₹11.6 crore the previous year. A key driver of this growth is IPL’s central media rights revenue, which has surged dramatically over the years.

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In 2023, the media rights for the IPL were secured by Viacom18 (digital) and Star India (television) for ₹48,390 crore, translating to ₹105 crore per game — a 94% increase from the prior deal. This rising media revenue has been a boon for RCB and other IPL franchises.

Menon also highlighted the challenges India faces in building strong infrastructure for sports outside of cricket. “To bring India’s best to sports, we need to look inside our communities," he said. “At present, the infrastructure for sports other than cricket in the country is quite broken. While cricket gets its lion’s share of support starting from schools to states, other sports don’t have that and, therefore, cannot have fans of the sport from a younger age. We have been speaking with policymakers to understand how we can contribute."

Menon said he is optimistic about the country's future in sports, especially if cricket is included in the Olympics by 2036. “A lot of other countries are far ahead of us in other sports, but since India has a strong foothold in cricket, if it does become an Olympic sport by 2036, the country will have strong chances of a medal."

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