IPL 2020: Ex-Indian cricket broadcaster says brands losing interest to invest in the sport

Ahead of IPL 2020, the topic of IPL sponsors has been consistently making the headlines. The IPL Dream11 Deal was confirmed last week, which meant that the fantasy sports platform will serve as the title sponsor of the competition. Several media reports also suggested that mobile handset companies are set to take a backseat in IPL 2020, with eSports and gaming platforms taking the lead when it comes to IPL sponsorship and advertisements this season.

IPL Dream11 deal

The three entities which had submitted their bids for the title sponsorship included Dream11, Unacademy and BYJU’s. While Dream11’s bid was of ₹222 crore, BYJU'S and Unacademy offered ₹201 crore and ₹171 crore respectively. In addition to becoming the title sponsor, media reports indicated that the fantasy sports platform will also serve as the ‘Presenting Sponsor’ for the IPL 2020.

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TATA IPL date update

TATA Sons were also one of the entities who were said to be interested in the title sponsorship but eventually opted against submitting a bid. A Times of India news report suggested that while the TATA Group was planning to make a ‘handsome’ bid for IPL 2020, they decided against doing so after their expectations regarding the number of categories available for sponsorship weren’t met. While TATA wanted to block three categories for the IPL 2020, BCCI’s decision to allow space only for a single brand activity meant that the TATA IPL deal didn’t materialize. However, Tata Motors will continue to remain the IPL's sponsors but in the form of an official partner in a ₹40 crore deal this season.

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Former cricket broadcaster suggests IPL not as lucrative as before

Referring to the recent developments around IPL sponsors, Harish Thawani, the founder of Nimbus Communications while speaking to Moneycontrol, suggested that the IPL Dream11 deal indicates that bigger companies are losing interest in the Indian Premier League. Referring to the tournament’s history, which saw brands like Pepsi and DLF be associated with it, Thawani explained that not only Indian companies but MNCs like Samsung and Coca-Cola have been steadily showing declining interest. The former chairman of Neo Sports admitted that the reason behind the decreasing interest in cricket could be value perception or the indifferent attitude of cricket administrators towards sponsors.

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Referring to the IPL Dream11 deal, the media mogul suggested that only new-age brands can afford to be associated with cricket, as he explained that the IPL sponsors landscape will always be changing, with new brands coming in to replace the previous ones. While Harish Thawani is not associated with cricket broadcasting now, he is best remembered for being one of Indian cricket’s biggest broadcasting personalities in the 2000s. Harish Thawani is also responsible for launching channels like Neo Sports and Neo Prime, which aired several international and domestic cricket during the same period.

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Image Courtesy: Dream11 official Twitter handle