Understanding Cricket Sponsorships
Sponsorship is collectively an imperative term, and it is not just about advertising. Similarly, every sporting team has a list of sponsors, and cricket is no different.
Cricket sponsorships are the financial support for a cricket team by an organization in return for a mutual benefit. This is mostly done by the sponsoring organization by gaining rights to the official jersey/kits of the cricket team. Cricket is loved and followed by millions and thus, many brands have an eye on being on the sponsor’s list.
Thanks to the inauguration ofthe Indian Premier League in 2008, many brands want to be associated with the teams participating in it. Cricket sponsorships are now not only limited to holding rights of the kits but way more than that. The list can go from broadcasting rights and the official sponsor of the tournaments to kit sponsor, team sponsor, etc.
Currently, every cricket team has a list of sponsors funding them and that is evident in their kits. But, do you know that sponsorships in sports aren’t a new thing?
That’s right! Sponsorships in sports have been one of the oldest forms of advertisements, taking us back to ancient times. Dating back to 264 BC, gladiator combats in ancient Rome were sponsored by the richest people in the city. They were sponsored to show off their power and generosity too. Sponsorships in those days comprised of putting up their names on pamphlets and walls.
Additionally, for moreinteresting articles on sports, you can check sportskhabri.com.
Indian Team Sponsor List:
Cricket sponsorships for years keep shuffling from one brand to the other. OPPO was the sponsor of the Indian team for 2017-2022. In2019, it was handed over to BYJU’S.Similarly, Star India was the team sponsor from 2014 to 2017, Sahara India from 2002 to 2013, and ITC Limited from 1993 to 2002.
Team Sponsor:
BYJU’s is an Indian educational tech company based in Bangalore. Founded in 2011, it is the most valuable educational tech company in the globe, with a value of $16.5 million. The popular learning app became the Indian team sponsor in 2019, and it holds the rights until March 2022.
Additionally, Byju’s signed an INR 130 Crore deal with the International Cricket Council to become the global partner.
Kit Sponsor:
For a long time, Nike has been the official kit sponsor of the Indian cricket team. Having acquired the rights in 2005, the brand was successful in extending it till September 2020. In October 2020, MPL Sports (Mobile Premier League) acquired the rights forkits sponsorship of the Indian team.
Currently, MPL Sports Apparel is the kit sponsor of the national team, a subsidiary of the online gaming platform (MPL).
Official Partners:
In August 2019, the BCCI (the Board of Control for Cricket in India) announced multiple official partners. It was announced that Dream11, LafargeHolcim (Ambuja Cements & ACC), and Hyundai Motors are the official partners. They have acquired the rights for all domestic and international matches to be played between 2019 and 2023.
Currently, the three of them are the official partners of the Indian cricket team.
Title Sponsor in India:
Paytm got hold of the title sponsorship of the matches played within India in 2015. Currently, the digital payment tech company has extended its hold on the title sponsorship till 2023. Previously, the title sponsorship of matches played in India was acquired by Airtel and Star India respectively.
In a year, we will know the next Indian team sponsor for domestic matches.
Official Broadcaster:
After a mammoth bidding war in 2018, Star India won the broadcasting rights for matches of the Indian cricket team. They hold the rights till 2023 after an intense bidding war with other companies for a whopping INR 6,138.1 Crore.
On average, it comes up to about around INR 60 Crore per match, which is astounding.
Covering the IPL has been a new experience for Star India,aspreviously it was with Sony Max.
Being the official broadcaster, the viewership of Star Sports has peaked in the ongoing IPL.
This has happened after the introduction of regional language commentaries on different channels of Star Sports.
Conclusion:
Sponsoring a cricket team isn’t an easy process in the current era. Numerous things need to be taken into consideration by the respective cricket boards and the brands/companies. The motive is a mutual benefit in terms of monetary gains for the brand and the team/board. Due to the popularity of the game, many brands are eager to be on the sponsor’s list.
Whether it is the IPL, the Big Bash League, orthe CPL, you’ll often see sponsors in kits, ads, boundary walls, etc.In today’s cricket, sponsorships play a key role in shaping the game and also enhancing brand awareness.
