A lot of folks I talk to these days are very skeptical about the big amounts of money involved in the IPL. Where is all this millions of dollars coming from? Someone has to pay for it ultimately, right? Why doesn’t the government take all this money to feed the poor? Surely that’s a better way to use the money, rather than watching some silly cricket, no? So, lets try to follow the logic of this argument. Who is paying for the IPL? Lets see… There are 2 major sources. One is that SONY is paying for it, via the huge broadcasting rights, and the spectators are paying a somewhat smaller amount for the match tickets.
How can SONY pay so much money? Because the advertisers are paying SONY huge money to advertise their products. And how are the advertisers able to afford so much money? They’re able to get all this money by selling us soaps and cars and the like.
So there you have it. All the “cost” is ultimately being borne by regular folks like you and me. But this is a very specious argument. Let us make the assumption that most folks like you and me are sane and selfish. Both very reasonably assumptions. Now, I wouldn’t pay for the tickets, the cars, the soaps and the chips if I wasn’t absolutely sure that I was getting something of more value in return.
"The money is not coming at someone’s cost.
Nobody is suffering because of the IPL.
The IPL has created actual value,
and is contributing to India’s GDP in a very real way"
That is to say, I value being clean (from using the soap) more than the 30 bucks it costs me to buy it. So I, the consumer, am winning in the process. The companies are winning too, since their sales are going up, and are happy to pay SONY for the advertisements. And SONY is happy to pay the BCCI for the rights, because it’s making money too. And the BCCI is happy to pay the players, because SONY is paying it so much. And the players are happy to take the money and do what they like - play cricket. Plus, they get to buy more soap, TVs, cars and chips with their salaries.
Everyone is winning. It was as if the IPL is pulling “money” out of thin air! How can that be
The problem with that statement is that the metaphor doesn’t fit. Money is not a zero-sum game. Value can be created, and is created by individuals and companies in pursuit of things like the IPL.
The IPL has created value exactly like this, and is supporting several thousand jobs in not just cricket and franchises, but at SONY and at the advertisers. And at its suppliers. And so on…
The money is not coming at someone’s cost. Nobody is suffering because of the IPL. The IPL has created actual value, and is contributing to India’s GDP in a very real way.
