The BCCI was left in a quandary after its Indian Premier League (IPL) title sponsor, Chinese smartphone maker VIVO decided to suspend the association for the upcoming IPL 2020.
This was due to the current anti-China mood in the country after the India-China clash at the LAC in Galwan Valley. These clashes left 20 Indian jawans dead and led to calls for boycotting of Chinese goods. Many outfits called BCCI to let go of VIVO as the main sponsor of IPL, but in the governing council meeting, the board decided to retain them as sponsors, leading to outrage on social media.
Seeing the unfavorable mood, VIVO itself decided to suspend the association for this edition only. This left the BCCI searching for a new title sponsor amidst the current market condition which has been battered by the Coronavirus-affected lockdown.
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However, as per reports of Times of India, BCCI has already attracted the attention of big names like Amazon, Byju’s and Dream11 for the vacant title sponsor position. Amazon is particularly interested given that the IPL will include India's festival season between Dussera (October) and Diwali (November).
Industry experts rule out a replacement churning out the same amount of money that Vivo did. "In fact, it's a win for BCCI even if they get a title sponsor at 1/3rd the value and two official partners to somewhat make up for the pool. Expect Vivo's Rs 440-odd cr pool to scale down to around Rs 180 cr and that, mind you, will be a win for BCCI in this market," they add.
There are two other competitors eyeing the sponsorship deal, Unacademy and Mycircle11, which are direct competition to Byju’s and Dream 11.
"The BCCI is looking for partners today. If Byju's decide to support the IPL today and rework the jersey sponsorship numbers going forward, it could be a win for them and BCCI," say sources.
And if Dream 11, that pays Rs 40 cr per season, wants to become the title sponsors, BCCI will expect them to pay an additional 40 cr from the bid. That is to make up for what they pay as official partners.
"That's where there's space for an Unacademy or a MyCircle11 to walk in as official partners. If Dream 11 takes the title, Unacademy can step in as official partners. If Byju's take the title, MyCircle11 can come in. Brands won't be conflicted," say sources.
Despite all this Amazon remains the leading contender given the festival season.
