Indian Premier League Cricket

Acquired

Ben Gilbert and David Rosenthal

Venturecapital, Ma, Investing, Acquisitions, Startups, Vc, Investment, Business, Technology

4.8 • 2.9K Ratings

🗓️ 24 March 2025

⏱️ 268 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

When you saw this episode pop up in your feed, you either jumped for joy and hit play immediately (in which case you’re not reading this), or you said “Huh. That’s a surprising episode.” Well, if you’re in group two, boy do we have a treat for you!

IPL is the fastest-growing, most dynamic and most disruptive force in the sports industry today… and this may come as a shock to many Americans, but it might just be on track to surpass the NFL as the world’s most valuable sports league. The IPL is currently valued at $16B, with a TV rights deal that’s higher in per-match dollars than the NBA and the English Premier League. And all this for a league that’s right now just 10 teams who collectively only play 74 total games per season… and oh yeah, the whole thing is only 17 years old! Tune in for an absolutely amazing story, filled with genius, drama (Rupert Murdoch! Disney! Bollywood!) and a perfect encapsulation of the rise of modern India.

Sponsors:

Many thanks to our fantastic Spring ‘25 Season partners:

Links:

Carve Outs:

More Acquired:

Get email updates with hints on next episode and follow-ups from recent episodes
Join the Slack
Subscribe to ACQ2
Check out the latest swag in the ACQ Merch Store!

‍Note: Acquired hosts and guests may hold assets discussed in this episode. This podcast is not investment advice, and is intended for informational and entertainment purposes only. You should do your own research and make your own independent decisions when considering any financial transactions.

Transcript

Click on a timestamp to play from that location

0:00.0	I am listening to the Kolkata Knight Rider's anthem as my pump-up song.
0:05.7	Oh, nice.
0:06.6	It is so awesome.
0:08.0	Have you seen the music video with Sharukon, the owner of the Kolkata Night Riders?
0:13.1	No.
0:13.9	He is the main character with the Bollywood dance around him.
0:17.3	Okay.
0:17.8	I'm going to go watch it right now.
0:19.3	And it's a little cheesy because I think it's from
0:21.2	2008 era, but it is perfect pump-up music. Oh, yes. We've got the player silhouettes in fire.
0:29.3	Yes, that's exactly the one. This is incredible. How have I not seen this before? This is something
0:36.7	that American sports definitely need to adopt.
0:39.3	Oh, man, we've got like a construction crew.
0:42.5	Too hot, too cool.
0:44.4	That is exactly the right reaction.
0:46.3	Okay, I'm going to pause.
0:47.6	We're not even going to record an episode.
0:49.0	I'm going to watch this.
0:51.9	All right, let's do it.
0:53.4	Let's do it.
0:54.0	Who got the truth?
0:57.0	Is it you?
	...

Please login to see the full transcript.

Previous episode | Next episode

Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from Ben Gilbert and David Rosenthal, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.

Generated transcripts are the property of Ben Gilbert and David Rosenthal and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.