Why the IPL is like the Oscars of sports world

A four-hour twenty-eight-minute podcast on the IPL? On a US tech-business platform? Pass, maybe? Except this is 'Acquired', amongst the top three tech podcasts on Apple and Spotify about "stories and strategies" of great companies. Like Visa, Ikea, Costco, Hermes, among others.

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But what could Acquired's hosts, Ben Gilbert and David Rosenthal, former venture-capitalists now full-time podcasters, say about IPL for that long? Yes, we know it's "fastest growing, most dynamic and most disruptive force in the sports industry today". But then the corker, "it might just be on track to surpass the NFL as the world's most valuable sports league." Okay now, cool those jets. One step at a time, please.

At the outset, Acquired introduces IPL to US listeners of which much is known. That said, it also outs some delicious previously unknown details.

For an Indian listener, Acquired contextualises IPL against the Big American leagues - NFL, NBA, MLB and NHL. Early on, Gilbert says IPL, "carefully studied all the mechanics that made the NBA and the NFL as successful... and then applied them on steroids."

Through the pod, we understand what IPL looks like from outside in - purely as a sports entertainment entity. Acquired is a forensic examination of IPL's architecture, components and its possible future.

Let's first deal with 'being on track to surpass the NFL. The IPL's current valuation is $16bn with annual revenues of $1.6-1/7bn. Rosenthal points out, "Here's the kicker. This for a league that plays only 74 games in a season that lasts only two months."