Indian Premier League: VIVO Retains Sponsorship For Next Five Years

Indian Premier League has been the highest grossing league in the country since its inception a decade ago and the hype seems to be increasing with every passing year as fresh talent has been introduced with every edition.

T20 is unarguably the most exciting and thrilling format of Cricket and when a tournament like Indian Premier League that attracts the hottest properties from all over the world, takes place, fireworks are bound to be witnessed and the same has been happening for ten years now.

Indian Premier League has several records under its belt, be it the number of viewers or the number of countries from where the players participate. However, today, another record got registered in the name of Indian Premier League and that is the bidding amount of Rs 2199 crore for sponsorship rights for the next five years.

VIVO, the Chinese smartphone manufacturer that had two years of sponsorship rights of the Indian Premier League from 2016 to 2017, has retained the contract but this time they bidding amount has seen a jump of almost 440%.

Yes, you read it right. While VIVO gave Rs 200 crore for sponsorship rights for two years, this time they have secured a contract for five years after agreeing to pay Rs 2199 crore as the bidding amount, which turns out to be roughly Rs 440 Crore per year.

Oppo, another Chinese smartphone manufacturer was also in the race of Indian Premier League’s sponsorship but their bid of Rs.1430, although being huge, had no match to the one made by VIVO.

The smartphone company, based in Guandong, previously bagged the title sponsorship from Pepsi, the soft-drink giant witnessing a three-year stint and real estate biggie DLF being the sponsors for the first five seasons.

However, PepsiCo pulled out from their five-year contract midway due to a spot-fixing scandal, that gave VIVO a chance to bag the opportunity.

As for other deliverables, IPL Governing Council invited Request for Proposal (RFP) for IPL Event Services on June 12 while invitations for Indian Premier League Media Rights Tender will commence on July 17. All these contracts will be for the next five-year cycle.

This year’s Indian Premier League, being the 11th edition, is expected to bring a host of changes including an open auction rather than the option of player retention. As for VIVO, this is another achievement for the company, that has, in a period of just three years, cemented its position in India as well as Southeast Asian markets. VIVO also continues to establish its grip in the sports industry, having made sponsorship deals for FIFA World Cups in 2018 as well as 2022.