The BCCI on Wednesday confirmed the fantasy gaming platform Dream11 as the title sponsors for the upcoming IPL 2020. The 13th edition of the popular T20 league begins on September 19 in the UAE, with the 53 matches to be played across three venues- Dubai, Abu Dhabi, and Sharjah.
However, there is a caveat in BCCI’s announcement, that Dream11 is the title sponsor of the IPL for this 13th edition only. This is because BCCI rejected its conditional three-year proposal due to low amounts for the years 2021 and 2022.
Dream11 had pipped educational technology companies BYJUs and Unacademy to win the rights for a period of four months and 13 days with a bid of Rs 222 crore, replacing Chinese mobile phone company Vivo.
"The IPL Governing Council has announced Dream11 as the new Title Sponsor of the 2020 edition of the Indian Premier League. Dream11 (Sporta Technologies Pvt. Ltd) is an Indian company based in Mumbai, Maharashtra," a BCCI statement said on Wednesday.
Dream11 offered to pay Rs 240 crore for years two and three in case Vivo did not come back. Vivo was forced to pull out of its Rs 440 crore per year deal this season due to the China-India border stand-off.
BCCI and Dream11 negotiated on the conditional three-year bid and the board asked the company to raise the amount considerably for the next two seasons, as per sources.
"Dream11 bid the highest but why will BCCI give them the rights for Rs 240 crore when we can expect the COVID-19 situation to improve in the next two years. We still have our deal with Vivo on. We haven't closed it as it's a pause. If we are getting Rs 440 crore, why will we settle for Rs 240 crore?" a veteran BCCI official told PTI.
"“We welcome Dream11 on board as Title Sponsor for the 2020 edition of the IPL. Dream11 upgrading their association from an Official Partner to Title Sponsors is a great testament to the brand IPL. Dream11 as a fantasy sports brand will only grow the engagement of the IPL with its fans. As a digital brand it will give them leverage to create exciting online engagement for fans sitting at home and watching the matches. We look forward to delivering great value to Dream11," IPL chairman Brijesh Patel said.
Dream11's association with sports has grown over the years and it is presently partnering a total of 19 leagues along with six Indian Premier League Franchises.
Harsh Jain, CEO and Co-founder, Dream Sports, said: "Being a proud homegrown Indian brand that is made in India, by Indians and exclusively for Indian sports fans, we would like to thank the BCCI for giving us an opportunity to become the title sponsor of IPL."
BCCI is expected to open fresh bids for 2021 and 2022 in case Vivo decides not to continue with their agreement. It is also expected that the Indian board will not settle for anything less than INR 400 cr.
(PTI inputs)
