IPL 2020 broadcasters to receive ₹150-160 crore from BYJU'S for on-air sponsorship?

The Indian Premier League 2020 (IPL 2020) season appears to be a big hit among the advertisers, even after an initial struggle through continuous delays, coronavirus-related halts and sponsorship pull-outs in the past few months. Recent reports indicate that the IPL 2020 official broadcasters, i.e. the Star India Network, has already sold out all its sponsorship slots. The network managed to fill out its slots with still a week remaining until the tournament commences in the United Arab Emirates (UAE).

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IPL sponsors: BYJUs IPL sponsorship reportedly heftiest among all IPL 2020 brands

According to a report by InsideSport, a source from the Star India Network recently confirmed that the IPL 2020 has five co-presenting and 14 associate sponsors. Apparently, Indian learning app BYJUs is the biggest on-air spender associated with the broadcasters. The report indicates that BYJUSs IPL sponsorship with the broadcasters is estimated to be worth somewhere between ₹150-₹160 crore.  

Apart from the BYJUs IPL sponsorship, Star Sports CEO Gautam Thakar earlier confirmed that the network has also signed deals with brands like Coca Cola India, PhonePe, Amazon, ITC, Kamla Pasand and IPL 2020 title sponsors themselves, Dream11. Interestingly, BYJU'S, along with Indian rival online education technology company Unacademy, had earlier made a bid to become the title IPL sponsors of the upcoming tournament. However, both lost out to Dream11 during the bidding.

In an exclusive telephonic interview with Republic TV, IPL 2020 Chairman Brijesh Patel confirmed that BYJU'S had bid for ₹201 crore and Unacademy had bid for ₹171 crore, thus losing out to Dream11 as the fantasy gaming company made a bid of ₹222 crore.

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Even after losing out on the IPL 2020 title sponsorship bid, both BYJUs and Unacademy made their way back into the tournament in some way or the other. While the BYJUs IPL sponsorship came to fruition through the broadcasters, the IPL governing council added Unacademy as their official partner between 2020 and 2022 seasons. Patel welcomed the deal by saying IPL is already the most-watched cricket league in the country and an Indian-based edutech company can create a huge impact on the viewers, especially on the youth who are “seeking inspirations in their careers”.

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IPL 2020: IPL dates and schedule announced by BCCI

The IPL sponsors news aside, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) recently confirmed the dates and venue for the IPL 2020 season. The much-awaited tournament will be conducted between September 19 and November 10 and it will be played across three venues in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), namely Dubai, Abu Dhabi and Sharjah. All eight franchises are currently in the desert country and are undergoing training sessions for the T20 event.

IPL 2020: BCCI confirms IPL dates

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Image source: IPL Twitter