MUMBAI: The International Cricket Council has earned $321.2 million from the successful 2011 ICC Cricket World Cup that was staged in the Indian sub-continent, reinforcing its dependence on the tentpole property for its revenues.

In comparison, the ICC had earned $105.1 million from the ICC World Twenty in 2010.

The ICC had sold the global broadcast rights to ESPN Star Sports till 2015 for $1.1 billion. As per the deal, ESS got the telecast rights for 18 ICC tournaments, including two World Cups and five T20 World Cups.

Though the major portion of ICC?s 2011 World Cup revenues were from the sale of the broadcast rights, it also got income from ten sponsors that included Hero MotoCorp, Pepsi, Emirates, LG, Reliance Communications, Reebok, Castrol, Hyundai and MoneyGram.

The ICC?s total revenue for the year stood at $353.8 million, up from $134.9 million in 2010.

The revenue from the World Cup pushed the world cricket governing body?s surplus to $203.8 million for the year ending 31 December compared to $76.1 million in the year ago period. The World Cup takes place every four years.

It must noted that the ICC had got a Rs 450 million tax exemption from the Indian government on a part of its income arising in India from the ICC CWC.

Its subscription income went up from $21.9 million in 2010 to $24.1 million. Subscription income is the amount ICC?s Full Members (Test playing nations) pay every year to fund the annual budget of the ICC.

The ICC?s income from commercial and other activities grew to $5.9 million from $5.2 million while interest and other financial income totaled $2.6 million, a slight drop from $2.7 million that it earned in 2010.

Operating costs amounted to $149.9 million, up from $58.8 million as the event cost of $121.9 million for staging the staging the ICC CWC. The event cost in 2010 stood at $30.2 million, which went into staging the ICC T20 WC.

General and administrative expenses relating to the management of the global game of cricket totaled $28 million, a decline from $28.6 million in the previous year.

During the year, member boards were paid dividends amounting to $180 million. In 2010, the amount toted up to $69 million.

Capital and Reserves amount to $33.6 million (2010: $29.4 million), represented by Reserves of $29 million (2010: $19.9 million) and Retained Surplus of $4.6 million (2010: $9.5 million).

The consolidated financial statements comprise the results of ICC Development International and its subsidiary companies ICC Events, International Cricket Council FZ-LLC, IDI Mauritius Limited and IDI Hungary KFT. The Group is owned by ICC for the benefit of all its Members.

MUMBAI: India Cements-owned IPL franchise Chennai Super Kings has earned a revenue of Rs 1.4 billion in the previous edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL) and is targeting a 15-20 per cent growth from season 5 of the cash rich league.

According to India Cements Joint President marketing Rakesh Singh, the franchise had clocked revenues of Rs 1.4 billion from sponsorship, ticketing and share of central revenue pool comprising ground sponsorship and broadcast rights.

The team has long-term deals with telco Aircel and lubricants brand Gulf Oil, two of its main sponsors, while Amrapali Group, Reebok, Pepsi, Coromandel King, Hercules, Mansion House, and The Hindu are other sponsors on board.

Speaking to official CSK website, Team owner Gurunath Meiyappan said the team has been getting encouraging response from sponsors due to its on-field performance.

?We are proud that most of our sponsors have been with us for almost all seasons. We are very happy that we are the only team whose principal sponsor, Aircel, has been constant from Season 1 of the Championship,? he said.

?Aircel, Gulf Oil, Life OK, Amrapalli, Washington Apple, TI Cycles, Mansion House, Universal and Reebok are our other sponsors. We also have tie-ups and associations with The Hindu, Caf? Coffee day and Hello FM. Our sponsorship rates have always increased year on year reflecting the success the team has been getting on-field.?

Some of the recent sponsors to come on board are Life OK channel and Washington Apples as the official fruit partner of the team.

However, it?s not just the sponsorship revenue that the franchise is banking on; it is also looking at merchandising, a revenue stream which has largely remained untapped unlike the West where it is a major revenue contributor for major clubs.

CSK plans to launch an entire range of apparel at various price points across 380 outlets in Tamil Nadu and is also opening a store at the Chennai airport soon. Additionally, all Reebok outlets will also be selling its merchandise.

Talking about the franchises marketing plans, Meiyappan said that the franchise began its marketing activities since January starting with the ?Yellow Card? membership. It is currently running a ?Name your Mascot? contest that has seen a huge number of entries.

?We began a focused drive to engage with our fans on Social Media platforms and that has given us stunning success. Our Facebook membership has crossed 1 million currently and we are hoping to make it 2 million by mid-season of IPL 5,? Meiyappan said.

He also revealed that the online ticket sales will begin 18 March.

As far as merchandise is concerned, the franchises is taking the first steps to move from being a sports based to a Lifestyle brand and is focusing on its signature team colour yellow as a first step. The franchise had earned Rs 35 million from merchandise last year.

?Based on wholesale prices, last season Reebok sold Rs 2.5 crores (Rs 25 million) of merchandise and Cool Maal, our official merchandise partner, sold Rs. 1 crore (Rs 10 million) worth of merchandise,? Meiyappan added.