IPL founder Lalit Modi predicts the league will double in size within three years and says the future of cricket viewership lies on OTT platforms rather than television.
As cricket continues to expand through new leagues and competitions around the world, Indian Premier League (IPL) founder Lalit Modi believes the cash-rich tournament is only getting bigger.
Speaking exclusively to ANI, Modi predicted that the IPL would double in size over the next three years while insisting that the future of sports consumption lies firmly on digital platforms rather than traditional television.
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Since its launch in 2008, the IPL has evolved into one of the world’s most valuable and widely watched sporting leagues, transforming the commercial landscape of cricket through franchise ownership, global stars and massive broadcast deals.
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Asked how he sees the league growing in the coming years, Modi offered a bold prediction.
“Double in three years,” Lalit Modi said.
The IPL’s rise has been fuelled by expanding broadcast reach, increasing fan engagement and the rapid growth of digital streaming, helping the tournament attract hundreds of millions of viewers globally every season.
Responding to concerns about declining television ratings, Modi argued that viewership is not falling but rather shifting to digital platforms as audiences increasingly consume content on mobile devices.
“It’s going down on television. Yeah, Television is a dumb box. Everything is on your vertical. Everything is moving to OTT. And I always said it would. We are the fastest-growing OTT country. We have a billion people who are interested in cricket. They are watching it on the go,” he said.
The IPL founder added that traditional audience measurement systems fail to accurately reflect the scale of engagement on OTT platforms.
Highlighting the need for improved digital audience tracking, Modi said streaming services provide more precise data on viewer behaviour than conventional television ratings.
“The data is much better. There is no rating information on OTT right now. That needs to come out. And you’re looking at somebody putting on a box and the signal going through it. And you don’t know whether somebody is watching. Now you get real data on who is watching when. And nobody’s going to watch the whole match. I’m globally travelling,” he added.
Modi also claimed that the IPL remains the dominant topic of conversation wherever he travels, underlining the league’s influence beyond Indian cricket.
Asked whether people still approach him to discuss the IPL, Modi said:
“That’s all they talk about. Everybody. That’s all they talk about. They don’t talk about the Modi family business. They don’t talk about any other businesses of ours. And everybody just wants to talk about the IPL.”
The IPL continues to strengthen its status as one of the most influential sporting brands in the world, driven by strong sponsorship revenues, growing international interest and booming digital consumption.
In the IPL 2026 final in Ahmedabad, Royal Challengers Bengaluru successfully defended their title by defeating Gujarat Titans.
RCB chased down 156 to become only the third franchise after Chennai Super Kings and Mumbai Indians to win back-to-back IPL titles.
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