IPL 2020 sponsorship revenues 40% down this season? BCCI looks for 1 more official partner

The COVID-19 pandemic has severely impacted the lives of people across the world. It has brought the world to an unprecedented, perhaps war-like standstill that has affected global share markets as well. Several sporting organizations, leagues and teams alike, have suffered huge losses. The upcoming edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL 2020) has also been at the receiving end of this global pandemic as the tournament's sponsorship has been affected gravely. 

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IPL 2020: BCCI central sponsorship revenue down by 40% as compared to IPL 2019

According to InsideSport, BCCI made ₹618 crore from the IPL 2019 central sponsorships. The IPL sponsors for 2019 included one title sponsor - VIVO (₹440 crore), three official partners - Tata Motors, FBB & Dream11 (₹120 crore on aggregate), one umpire sponsor - Paytm (₹28 crore) and one strategic timeout partner – CEAT (₹30 crore).

However, the BCCI’s revenues from the central sponsorships in the IPL 2020 are already down by 40% as compared to the IPL 2019. In fact, not only the IPL 2020 title sponsorship value is down by 50% but also the slots emptied by the promotion of Dream11 and pulling out of the Future Group from have caused serious problems for the BCCI as it aims to find another sponsor, who would agree to pay ₹40 crore, just as Unacademy has done recently as per a report by the same publication. There is no official information yet about Paytm and CEAT's deal remaining the same this season as well.

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The total sponsorship revenue for IPL 2020 tentatively as of now stands at ₹360 crore. The IPL sponsors for 2020 include one title sponsor - Dream11 (₹222 crore), two official partners - Tata Motors, Unacademy (₹80 crore), one umpire sponsor - Paytm (₹28 crore), one strategic timeout partner – CEAT (₹30 crore).

IPL 2020: Uncademy comes on board as IPL sponsors after Future Group pulls out

Unacademy has signed a three-year deal with the BCCI as an IPL official partner and will spend in the range of ₹120-130 crore for the period. The official announcement about the deal will be made soon. A BCCI official confirmed the Unacademy deal with InsideSport saying that it has been signed for a period of 3 years and an official announcement about the same will be made soon.

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After the Future Group pulled out and Dream11 was promoted as IPL title sponsors, the BCCI was left with two empty slots for associate sponsors of IPL 2020. With Unacademy taking the first slot, the BCCI is currently in talks with the credit card payment company CRED for the second slot. 

The Future Group pulled out of the cash-rich league as IPL sponsors because they are currently going through a restructuring phase. The Future Group takeover is set to happen which is why they opted to terminate their association with the IPL. They have also faced huge losses due to the prevailing beleaguered economic climate in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic.

The retail conglomerate is now expected to face a takeover from the Reliance Group. The long-negotiated Reliance Future Group deal is likely to be completed by the end of this month. Interestingly, the Reliance Group is carved out of Reliance Industries, the latter of which is the owner of a popular IPL franchise Mumbai Indians.

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IMAGE COURTESY: DREAM11 TWITTER