Photo Credit: Instagram Photo of @lalitkmodi
Lalit Modi has denounced the Hundred as “basically a big fat Ponzi scheme” after accusing the ECB of producing inflated projections for broadcast income to attract investors.
Modi, one of the key architects of the Indian Premier League (IPL), leaked several confidential ECB cost and revenue spreadsheets on Thursday that showed estimated values for broadcast rights for the 100-ball competition up to 2032. The governing body is trying to attract external investors who are being offered the chance to buy a 49% stake in one of the eight teams.
Then, on Friday morning, Modi wrote on social media that he had made a “billion-dollar offer” to buy out the entire competition “in perpetuity.”
Modi said the ECB has been “building a hype around” the Hundred “that has no justification or guarantees on numbers.”
He further commented, “The idea was to redo it as a T20 tournament. Not another new format the global audience have zero idea about. Secondly to unbundle it from the ECB media rights. Thirdly 100 per cent ownership. Fourthly distance from the struggling Hundred competition, which comes with its own baggage.”
“My concern now is that they are trying to lure current IPL owners into this non-starter league and building a hype around it that has no justification or guarantees on numbers. Basically a big fat Ponzi scheme.”
A Ponzi scheme is a form of investment fraud where investors receive payouts that they believe to be genuine, but which are actually money raised from other investors. An increasing number of victims are needed to sustain the scheme, leading to a financial black hole when it collapses.
The ECB has declined to comment, but Richard Gould, the body’s CEO, was asked on the BBC’s Test Match Special whether Modi’s comments should be taken seriously. “I don’t recognise his particular comments,” Gould said. “Indeed, it wasn’t so long ago he had an article in the Telegraph saying he wanted to buy the competition for a billion [pounds]… so, no thank you. When you are in these investment processes, it is all about opinions.”
“We’ve had incredible levels of interest. At the moment, people who would be interested in investing in English cricket through the Hundred get to look at the data. We have 100 or so interested parties, a huge number. It’s steady as she goes; we take nothing for granted, and there is a really good process that is being run.”
The documents leaked by Modi show that the ECB, in conjunction with the accountancy firm Deloitte, has projected that the value of the broadcast rights for the Hundred is expected to rise by 57% by 2032 and that it expects sponsorship in the tournament to rise from its present value of £5.7 million a year to £22 million in 2029 and £32.6 million by 2032, bringing in an additional £109 million up to that point.
Modi, who is not thought to be interested in investing in any of the eight teams, added: “The ECB’s financial projections for the Hundred, particularly beyond 2026, appear wildly optimistic and disconnected from reality.”
The leaked documents suggest that the present value of the domestic TV rights, £37.8 million, will rise to £54.3 million next year and to £85 million in 2029. The current rights deal with Sky Sports runs until the end of 2028, but a new free-to-air deal will be in place for the start of 2025, although that deal has not yet been signed. The projected rise in value for next year is predicated on that deal being done. Negotiations between the ECB and the BBC for a free-to-air contract that would allow the broadcaster to show ten Hundred matches live each season are ongoing.
The leaked documents also show that the ECB expects the amount overseas broadcasters will pay to show the tournament in their territories will increase from its present value of £2.1 million to £22.2 million in 2029 and £34.8 million by 2032.
The ECB confirmed the veracity of the leaked spreadsheets but did not wish to make any further comment.
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