The Indian Premier League’s governing council on Wednesday told the franchises to be ready for a drop in their earnings in the aftermath of title sponsors Vivo deciding not to continue their association this season.
“The revenues will take a hit because of the prevailing circumstances. The safety and security of the players and all concerned is our utmost priority and we will do our best in that respect even if it means extra expenditure,” governing council chairman Brijesh Patel told the franchises on Wednesday evening.
The franchises have extended their support to the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI).
The BCCI remains confident that they will have a replacement for Vivo within the next few days.
With around 45 days left for the 13th edition of the money-spinning league to begin in the UAE, Vivo India, the local arm of the Chinese cell phone company, decided to pull out because of a backlash following the political storm surrounding the recent tension with China.
The Telegraph understands that the franchises were “unofficially” told about the development late on Tuesday night.
The BCCI is hoping to come up with an announcement once a new title sponsor is confirmed.
“There’s nothing to worry and there’s no threat to the IPL,” a well-placed source said. “Don’t forget a similar thing happened in 2015 when Pepsico pulled out of the title sponsorship after just three seasons of its five-year deal.
“Vivo had then stepped in with a bigger sponsorship value for the two remaining seasons. Yes, the pandemic has altered market dynamics but we can get a replacement in place this season.”
A fresh request for proposal (RFP) may be floated to find a title sponsor. Vivo has a Rs 2,199-crore five-year deal with IPL from 2018.
The franchises though are fretting over Vivo’s exit and the resultant effect on their revenue. The BCCI and the franchises have an equal share in the central pool revenue.
This means that each party had a share of Rs 220 crore from Vivo’s sponsorship deal. That works out to Rs 27.5 crore each for the eight franchises. If the new sponsors pay less than what Vivo has been doing, it will have an effect on the franchises’ earnings. Then there’s the loss of gate money and in-stadia advertising.
There’s also talk that the franchises will ask the BCCI to do away with its share of 20 per cent which they receive from their top-line revenue.
“You also have to look at the ground situation. If a sponsor comes on board with an amount lower than Rs 440 crore and the pandemic situation doesn’t improve when the next IPL comes, then Vivo may want to renegotiate the deal,” a market analyst said.
“Why are we only looking at Vivo’s exit for only one year? There’s no clarity on if they would continue next season. We also don’t know what the border situation will be in another six months’ time.”
