Jio, Vivo in race for team India sponsorship rights
MUMBAI: Multiple corporate players including DBS Bank, Reliance Jio and Chinese mobile handset manufacturer Vivo are in the race to grab sponsorship rights of the Indian cricket team for the next five years.
Rahul Johri, CEO of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), had told ET that the board received expressions of interest from brands and companies operating across a diverse range of industries such as BFSI, auto, e-commerce, mobile and telecom, and media and entertainment.
While Johri refused to share the specific names, industry sources said Paytm and Star India have also picked up the tender documents inviting bidders for the sponsorship rights.
"India is a key focus market for DBS Group. We realise that Bollywood and cricket are two religions here and being a challenger brand, we have to be associated with it," Sheran Mehra, head - Group Strategic & Marketing Communications, DBS Bank told ET.
DBS Bank roped in Sachin Tendulkar last year as its brand ambassador and believes this sponsorship will help the company establish its brand deeper in the Indian market.
Mehra said while getting Tendulkar on board and its association with IPL franchise Rising Pune Supergiants (RPS) has helped DBS Bank in terms of customer acquisitions and brand recall, sponsorship of the Indian cricket team will help the company to penetrate deeper.
"Cricket sells in this country and it has been growing continuously. So far, the association with cricket has given us good returns and we are looking at a bigger association," she added.
BCCI had initiated the tender process to award the rights for next five years starting April 1. ET was the first to report that BCCI had set Rs 2.2 crore as the base price for bilateral matches, while for ICC tournaments the base price is Rs 70 lakh. Even at the base price, BCCI will earn at least Rs 523.6 crore from bilateral matches and Rs 14.7 crore from ICC properties, totalling Rs 538.3 crore.
While the last date to buy tender document was March 1, the winner will be announced on March 7.
Johri had told ET that sponsorship of the Indian cricket team is arguably the most attractive commercial opportunity available to companies and brands anywhere in world sport. "Team India's front-of-shirt sponsorship delivers more value than that offered by other cricketing nations, including Australia, England and South Africa," Johri had said.
Interestingly, while Star India has picked up the tender document, its chairman and CEO Uday Shankar had said in an interview to ToI that the broadcaster will not bid for the jersey rights because the commitments being asked for was "too onerous" and "without clarity".
Rahul Johri, CEO of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), had told ET that the board received expressions of interest from brands and companies operating across a diverse range of industries such as BFSI, auto, e-commerce, mobile and telecom, and media and entertainment.
While Johri refused to share the specific names, industry sources said Paytm and Star India have also picked up the tender documents inviting bidders for the sponsorship rights.
"India is a key focus market for DBS Group. We realise that Bollywood and cricket are two religions here and being a challenger brand, we have to be associated with it," Sheran Mehra, head - Group Strategic & Marketing Communications, DBS Bank told ET.
DBS Bank roped in Sachin Tendulkar last year as its brand ambassador and believes this sponsorship will help the company establish its brand deeper in the Indian market.
Mehra said while getting Tendulkar on board and its association with IPL franchise Rising Pune Supergiants (RPS) has helped DBS Bank in terms of customer acquisitions and brand recall, sponsorship of the Indian cricket team will help the company to penetrate deeper.
"Cricket sells in this country and it has been growing continuously. So far, the association with cricket has given us good returns and we are looking at a bigger association," she added.
BCCI had initiated the tender process to award the rights for next five years starting April 1. ET was the first to report that BCCI had set Rs 2.2 crore as the base price for bilateral matches, while for ICC tournaments the base price is Rs 70 lakh. Even at the base price, BCCI will earn at least Rs 523.6 crore from bilateral matches and Rs 14.7 crore from ICC properties, totalling Rs 538.3 crore.
While the last date to buy tender document was March 1, the winner will be announced on March 7.
Johri had told ET that sponsorship of the Indian cricket team is arguably the most attractive commercial opportunity available to companies and brands anywhere in world sport. "Team India's front-of-shirt sponsorship delivers more value than that offered by other cricketing nations, including Australia, England and South Africa," Johri had said.
Interestingly, while Star India has picked up the tender document, its chairman and CEO Uday Shankar had said in an interview to ToI that the broadcaster will not bid for the jersey rights because the commitments being asked for was "too onerous" and "without clarity".
