IPL 2020 Title Sponsorship: Tata Sons Emerges Strong Contender
Title sponsorship for the IPL 2020 season went up for grabs after Chinese mobile phone makers VIVO’s Rs 440 Cr contract was ‘mutually’ suspended in wake of Anti-Chinese sentiment.
It is not clear if a Tata Sons or Jio will match the money — about Rs 440 crores — Vivo paid BCCI every season. But sources in the know of things say the title sponsorship can easily touch Rs 300 crores or more.
Till early last week, BCCI was looking at a revenue of Rs 250 crores from the IPL title sponsorship but suddenly the equations have changed after Tatas came in the limelight.
Besides Tata Sons, Indian cricket jersey sponsor Byju’s, Reliance Jio, Patanjali and Unacademy have submitted the Expression of Interest for the IPL 2020 Title Sponsorship. it seems Tata Sons — who have never had a history as cricket sponsors — could be leading the race. Tata Group companies are already supporting sports like Indian Wrestling, Football, and Tennis.
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Jio and Patanjali, like Tata Sons, are also desi companies but sources say Jio really doesn’t need IPL to promote itself and Patanjali doesn’t have deep pockets to match Tatas. Byju’s, who is already a sponsor of the Indian cricket team, may lose out due to their Chinese connect while Unacademy, who are already official partners of IPL, will be a long shot.
It is worth noting that the group company TATA Motors is already one of the central sponsors of IPL. Tata Motors is already paying in a range of Rs 42–45 Cr for the Central Sponsorship. According to the reliable sources, Tata Sons is ready to shell out Rs 250–275 Cr for the IPL 2020 title.
The 13th edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL 2020) is all set to get a helping hand from one of the biggest and the most credible business houses of the country. A formal announcement is slated to be made by the BCCI on August 18.
Meanwhile, with 36 days to go for the thirteenth season, the streaming deal between Hotstar and Jio TV has been called off. As per a report by e4M, both Hotstar and JioTV could not reach an agreement on the IPL deal and the same has been called off now. However, you would not know until the last minute, anything can happen.
The final announcement of the IPL 2020 Title Sponsor will be made on 18th August. BCCI had clearly mentioned in the IPL 2020’s Invitation for Expression of Interest, that IPL Sponsorship will not only be awarded to the highest bidder but it will also depend on other relevant factors.
“It is clarified that BCCI shall not be obliged to award the Rights to the third party which indicates a willingness to pay the highest fees in the course of discussions/ negotiations with BCCI after submitting an EOI. BCCI’s decision in this regard will also depend on a number of other relevant factors, including but not limited to, the manner in which the third party intends to exploit the Rights and the potential impact of the same on-brand IPL as also the fan/ viewer experience, which will be examined/ evaluated by BCCI in the course of discussions/ negotiations with interested third parties who submit an EOI”.
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Originally published at https://thefinancepost.com on August 14, 2020.