The Indian Premier League or the IPL is one of the most popular cricket leagues worldwide. This is the most-awaited cricket event each year and it usually happens any time from March to May. However, because of the COVID 19 pandemic, the matches were moved to September and it will be held in the UAE.
The IPL is one of the most wagered on sports as well. Indians have a very profound love for this sport and they also enjoy placing bets for this. If you’re interested, you can check the IPL betting odds in India on sites like 10Cric as you prepare for the next season this September.
Last year, the main sponsor of the IPL is VIVO and this is why that season was called the VIVO IPL 2019. Many people saw the Mumbai Indians become the champions of that season and surely, this just got fans excited for the next one. However, since March, there were already talks about whether the IPL will be canceled or not. It was just recently when the BCCI has confirmed its return.
This year, VIVO has already announced its exit from the sponsorship, and right now, it remains unknown which companies will be the sponsor of the upcoming cricket event. Currently, there are already a few names that are linked to the sponsorship of this year’s IPL.
Sources have already tipped that Amazon India, Byju’s, and Dream 11 are now in the race for being this year’s sponsor. Who’s ahead of this race remains unknown as it is likely that the BCCI will be announcing this as a surprise.
There are talks that Byju’s intends to place a bid for the sponsorship that amounts to Rs 300cr. Meanwhile, Dream 11 has declined to disclose how much they will be putting in as a bid. Unacademy hasn’t disclosed much as well. A person who knows about the development of the partnership only has this to say, “Unacademy wants to give this a fair chance. By bidding for IPL sponsorship, the ed-tech firm is looking at becoming one of the top global brands. The title sponsorship will help the 100% homegrown brand, having no Chinese investors, to enhance its brand through IPL.”
The BCCI has decided that instead of having three official partners, they will be expanding to five. Each sponsor or partner should commit an average of Rs 40cr each as they are aiming to raise around Rs 300cr for this season due to the exit of the Chinese mobile company, VIVO.
VIVO India committed to pay approximately Rs 440cr for five years when they got on board of the partnership in 2018. However, due to external factors, VIVO backed out. And so, it is understandable why the BCCI is aiming to raise around RS 300cr as this would make up for the loss that they had due to VIVO stepping out.
Aside from Amazon, Byju’s, and Dream 11, the BCCI has also received verbal commitments from companies like Unacademy, an e-learning app service, and Cred, a credit card payment platform to be official partners.
Coca-Cola also appears to be in the race. Coca-Cola India said that they are also evaluating the opportunity that the BCCI has. A spokesperson from Coca-Cola India has said in a statement, “We are currently observing how the market situation is evolving and we are evaluating the available opportunities. As a company policy, we cannot comment on any speculation.”
Lloyd Mathias, a business strategist, and angel investor talked about the sponsorship of the IPL this year with Moneycontrol. He said, “While certain categories like mobile handsets won’t be in contention, it is a great opportunity for categories like ed-tech, food delivery platforms, e-commerce, and pharma companies. Digital payment platforms like PhonePe and Google Pay will also be actively looking at it. The field is open, and there will be no dearth of companies picking up the tender.”
He further explained, “However, I believe the BCCI will not get the Rs 440 crore it was slated to get from Vivo. Also, the company which picks up the IPL title sponsorship rights will have to keep some amount aside for buying on-air time on Star. I believe the deal amount will be in the range of Rs 250-300 crore.
“The advertising pool is going to shrink a bit primarily because of two reasons. One, a lot of Chinese brands will stay out of advertising this year. Secondly, a lot of mainstream Indian consumer goods brands are also not going to spend heavily because of subdued economic sentiments. Ed-tech companies like Byju’s and Unacademy are reportedly in the running. It offers a great opportunity for them in terms of scaling their brand visibility,” he added.