VIVO RETAINS IPL TITLE SPONSORSHIP AT ~2,200 CR

The Chinese handset maker first came in as title sponsor in 2016 after global beverage giant PepsiCo pulled out of its five-year deal

Chinese handset maker Vivo has successfully retained the title sponsorship to the cashrich cricket tournament Indian Premier League (IPL). The company will pay the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) a total of ~2,199 crore over the next five years.

The next closest bid was made by Oppo at ~1,432 crore for five years. Oppo currently holds the Team India sponsorship rights, and interestingly, both Vivo and Oppo are parts of the same parent group. The base price for bidding was ~600 crore for five years, or ~120 crore per year.

The new title sponsorship deal comes with a massive rise over the previous one Vivo had with the BCCI since 2016. The Chinese handset maker came in as the title sponsor in 2016 after global beverage giant PepsiCo pulled out of its five-year deal. While Pepsi was to pay BCCI ~396 crore over five years (~80 crore a year), Vivo picked up the two-year title sponsorship stint at ~200 crore, or ~100 crore a year. Against Vivo's previous deal, the new one means a 340 per cent higher earning from sponsorship rights for the BCCI per year. When compared to PepsiCo's ~396 crore (for five years) deal, the new deal comes at a premium of 455 per cent.

The BCCI had called for title sponsorship bids on May 31. Interested companies could pick up tenders till June 21, and the deadline for submission of the bids was noon, June 27. The tender fee for the same was ~3 lakh. A total of five companies, all handset makers, had applied for the title sponsorship. Apart from Oppo and Vivo, others were Xiaomi, Motorola, and Intex.

IPL chairman Rajeev Shukla said, “We are delighted to have Vivo joining us once again as the title sponsor for IPL for next five years. The association with Vivo has been great for the past two seasons and I am sure they will continue to make it bigger and better.” BCCI acting president C K Khanna said, “Vivo as a brand has carved its niche and legacy in the market. We are extremely glad to have Vivo as the title sponsor and look forward to an enriching affiliation for both stakeholders.”

BCCI acting secretary Amitabh Choudhary said, “We received an overwhelming response for the title sponsorship rights and we are glad to have Vivo back on board. It is a renewal of a fruitful relationship with the brand that will extend for the next five years.”

The jump in sponsorship fees, while massive, was not totally unexpected.

“The IPL has a history of seeing the title sponsorship rights fetch top dollar with every new sponsor coming on board. A 500 per cent mark-up may not have been what people expected, but expectations were definitely for a big payout,” says Indranil Das Blah, partner and chief operating officer at CAA KWAN, a sports marketing and celebrity management firm.

When the IPL launched n 2008, the title sponsorship was bagged by DLF at a fee of ~250 crore for five years (~50 crore a year).