ECB's Financial Projections For 'The Hundred' Disconnected From Reality: Lalit Modi

The England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB)'s financial projections on the profitability of its pet project 'The Hundred' is largely "disconnected from reality" reckoned Lalit Modi, who conceptualised the vastly successful Indian Premier League (IPL) in 2008. Modi had little doubt that The Hundred will never be able to attain the international audience like the mega-hit IPL. The ECB is looking at potential Indian investors with deep pockets, preferably owners of IPL teams, who have stakes in other global leagues.

But the former IPL commissioner's series of tweets with charted numbers showed that none of The Hundred franchises can be valued at anything between GBP 5 million to 25 million, let alone USD 1 billion.

"The ECB's financial projections for The Hundred, particularly beyond 2026, appear overly optimistic and disconnected from reality. The International TV rights figures make little sense, given the global competition from other cricket leagues like the IPL.

"It's unlikely The Hundred will attract the necessary international audience to justify these inflated numbers," Modi tweeted.

The Hundred, where each team plays 100 ball per innings in 65 minutes comprises eight teams -- Birmingham Phoenix, London Spirit, Manchester Originals, Northern Superchargers, Oval Invincibles, Southern Brave, Trent Rockets and Welsh Fire.

In fact, Modi, who had wanted to buy out the 'The Hundred' for USD 1 billion for perpetuity but ECB wasn't interested, busted the cricket board's ambitious claims.

"Domestically, while an increase in TV rights from GBP 54 million to GBP 85 million is plausible, the optimism around sponsorship post-2027 is far-fetched.

"The ECB's hope for sustained sponsorship growth into 2029-30 seems more like wishful thinking than a realistic forecast," said the former BCCI vice-president.

Modi then explained why his "baby" IPL's revenue generation with media rights of USD 6.2 billion is a case of 16 years of sustained growth.

"Even giving them the benefit for 2027-28, there's no solid basis to expect sustained revenue growth at the scale predicted. The ECB's optimism pales in comparison to the IPL, where teams are valued at USD 1 billion based on 16 years of performance.

"By contrast, as per my analysis The Hundred's teams are projected to be worth a mere GBP 5 million to GBP 25 million in the best-case scenario in my MOST CONSIDERED VIEW, with Manchester maxing out at GBP 8.5 million." In fact, Modi claimed that 'The Hundred' can't even match the revenue generated by the Caribbean Premier League (CPL).

"Worse still, 'The Hundred' struggles to match even the Caribbean Premier League's profitability, a sobering indication of its financial frailty.

"The Hundred appears to be on shaky financial ground, with projections that fail to inspire confidence in its long-term viability as these look dangerously overambitious and unsustainable," he further stated.

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