IPL 2021: BKT Tires inks deal with seven franchises ahead of IPL 14 :Indian tyre manufacturer Balkrishna Industries (BKT Tires) signed a deal with seven Indian Premier League (IPL) franchises as sponsors on Wednesday ahead of the IPL 2021 that will begin on April 9.
BKT Tires would be the official partner of Mumbai Indians (MI), Chennai Super Kings (CSK), Delhi Capitals (DC), Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB), Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR), Punjab Kings (PBKS) and Rajasthan Royals (RR) in the cash-rich tournament’s upcoming edition.
The company however is not new to IPL sponsorship. In the previous edition of the IPL, BKT Tires had a sponsorship deal with MI, CSK, DC, RR, KKR, PBKS and RR. It would be the first time that it will have a tie-up with Virat Kohli led RCB.
”We are elated to be a part of this huge cricketing event that is known to bind our entire nation, for yet another season, after key-collaborations with the biggest global leagues,” Balkrishna Industries Joint Managing Director Rajiv Poddar said.
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After suffering a massive loss in revenue due to COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, BCCI and eight franchises are looking to recover financially. BCCI has already signed up multiple sponsors for IPL and the revenue is set to grow by 100%.
As for the franchises, with no crowd and gate-money from ticket sales, they will have to depend on sponsors and TV rights. For IPL 2020, most of the franchises failed to sell out their inventory as the business world entered a recession due to the COVID-19 pandemic and subsequent lockdown restrictions. With easing restrictions, businesses are back on track. This time, things are looking good for franchises, most of who have already sold out most of their inventories.
“This will be one of the best year for us on account of team sponsorships. We have sold almost every piece of Team Jersey. Not only this even partnership slots, but digital integrations slots are also filling up fast,” one of the top officials of Punjab Kings said.
“Yes, after last year’s loss, we are a bit worried about this year’s revenue loss as well. I would say the loss could be around Rs 25 crore. But more than that we are going to lose our fans. That’s our biggest concern,” CSK CEO Kashi Viswanathan told InsideSport.co