IPL Sponsorship Deals Dip in 2020

The 2020 IPL season is one with a big difference. The games will not take place in India as is usually the case, and there will be no fans in attendance at all. The only way to watch is on TV, and while there are many TV deals in place around the world, this has seen a drop in the interest around the tournament.

Unfortunately for the league, this has led to a drop in sponsorship, affecting both the tournament as a whole and individual teams.

We are heading into an interesting period for sports as a whole, and the IPL is part of this. Teams and leagues are going to see shortfalls through sponsorship and no fans being in attendance, and they will have to work out how they are going to subsidise that from other areas.

The relationship between sport and the betting industry continues to grow but online betting sites aren’t able to sponsor IPL teams yet. Would the need to bring big names on board for the BCCI force them to look at this and change their rules to allow betting companies to advertise on IPL shirts?

This will be one of many options on the table, and it is unlikely that we will see an answer to the question any time soon. However, if we head towards the 2021 IPL and things are still in place restricting either where the tournament will be held or if fans can attend, the league will have to do something to safeguard itself and the teams.

Monetary Changes in 2020

The overall sponsor of the IPL changed this year, and the new deal in place is said to be 50% less than the previous deal. Vivo pulled out of the title sponsor deal they had in place after military tensions between India and China.

That left the IPL with little option but to go with a lower offer, which came from current sponsors Dream11, who are a fantasy sports company. A quick look at the economic news will show you examples of many companies struggling, so the IPL was left without much choice.

Smaller league deals have also been lost, and a gap was left when Dream11 moved up, but the IPL have been able to secure new deals to take over these.

On top of no gate receipts this season plus a smaller share from the main league revenue due to lower sponsorship deals, IPL franchises have had to offer discounts to their own sponsors to keep them on board.

These range from a 20% to a 25% drop in the deals as sponsors are not getting the kind of exposure they want for the full price, which would include playing in front of paying fans inside stadiums.

Collectively this is a blow for the league, and the impact will be determined by the length of time we go without no or limited fans. Things will be fine if there is some kind of normality next season, but should that not be the case then we could see some of the smaller franchises begin to struggle and need further assistance from others in the league.

This article does not necessarily reflect the opinions of the editors or management of EconoTimes