The IPL completed 10 editions and year, and if its sponsorship rights are any indication, it’s well and truly entered the big boys’ club.
The title sponsorship rights for the next five editions of the IPL have been awarded to Vivo at an astonishing 554% increase over the last five years, the BCCI has announced. Vivo, which has been sponsoring the IPL since 2016, has won the rights for another five years at a price of Rs. 2199 crore. This translates into nearly Rs. 440 crore per IPL season. In contrast, it was currently paying an estimated Rs. 100 crore per year for the rights.
Interestingly, VIVO beat Oppo in the auction, which had reportedly bid Rs. 1430 crore. Vivo and Oppo are owned by the same Chinese conglomerate, BBK Electronics. Oppo is also the sponsor of the Indian cricket team for the next five years.
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The IPL has grown in stature since its founding years, even though it’s been sometimes beset with controversy. In 2008, DLF had won the sponsorship rights for the IPL for Rs. 200 crore for five seasons. DLF, however, had chosen not to renew its contract in 2012, which led Pepsi to win the bid in 2013 for Rs. 396 crore for the next five years. In 2013, scandal hit the league, with Ankeet Chavan, Ajit Chandila and S Sreesanth being arrested over charges of spot- fixing. The controversy reportedly caused Pepsi to end its deal in 2015, at which point Vivo had bid for the 2016 and 2017 seasons at an estimated Rs. 100 crore per year.
But the jump in the the sponsorship rights in 2018 is the biggest the IPL has seen. In 2013, the sponsorship had nearly doubled in value from Rs. 40 crore to Rs. 80 crore per year, and in 2016, had increased marginally to Rs. 100 crore. But with a near 500% increase in the value of its sponsorship, the IPL has indicated it was only seeing off the new ball for its first ten editions — it’s getting into its groove only now.