The Indian Premier League is one of the fastest-growing if the fastest-growing professional sports league in the world.
All the way back from its humble beginnings ten years ago up to where it is now, the IPL has now become a sight to behold not only for fans and players as well as the analysts who have stayed and got emotionally and intellectually invested in this now prestigious cricket league.
The Indian Premier League sponsorship history for the past is also a story worth telling. Some actually even call the journey of the league’s sponsorship an “economist’s delight,” and a “case study for market strategists and media buyers.” Whether you are an industry expert caught in awe of the greatness of the IPL or just an ordinary fan who is out looking for the IPL prediction today match, you cannot deny the fact that this league had gained huge respect and a big recognition in the world of sports as well as in economics. Why is that, you ask? It is simply because there are so few professional sports leagues, or any commercial entity for that matter, that saw a growth rate of 1,100% in just matter of a decade–and to think that all of these are just under three deals and four brands.
Just recently, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has announced that theta re suspending the current title sponsorship deal with Chinese mobile phone company VIVO. Until recently, with the title sponsorship by VIVO, the IPL has been officially called as the VIVO Indian Premier League. There was no elaborate detail that was shared, but the cancellation of the sponsorship deal with the Chinese company came amidst the ongoing Sino-Indian trade tension. With that in mind, let us take a look back to the sponsorship history of the IPL, and on the partnerships that made it as big as it is right now.
The Indian Premier League has earned ₹616 crores in the first ten years of its existence, and experts are predicting that it will even grow to a value of ₹2,199 crores for the next five years. When Gurgaon-based commercial real estate developer DLF signed a five-year title sponsorship contract with the IPL in 2008, many called the investment of the company as “overpriced,” considering the smaller following of the IPL back then as it is now. The title sponsorship deal with the realtor company was for ₹200 crores back then, and it was a five-year contract that would last from 2008 to 2012.
On the other hand, China’s BBK Group smartphone brand also signed a deal as a sponsor for the IPL and ₹100 crores per year for 2016 and 2017. Eventually, the Chinese mobile company saw a bigger potential for the property that they decided to invest ₹439.8 crores in sponsorship for the next five seasons.
Among all other brands that sponsored the league, Vodafone currently holds the record for being the brand who have been partners with the property for the longest time. However, many analysts see a challenging path for the brand moving forward, with several changes in the Indian mobile industry posing a challenge to some providers.
Throughout its decade of existence, the year 2017 made history for having the most number of brands singed by the IPL as their sponsors. A total of 20 different bands were sponsors for the league’s tenth season, and it even includes three big brands in the presenting Category.
Moving forward
With the title sponsorship for the IPL up for grabs right now. Even the BCCCI had admitted that the amount of sponsorship that they lost when they parted with VIVO is a significant amount that they need to write off, but as they say: “the show must go on.”
