No VIVO as title sponsor for IPL 2020 says BCCI.
Both BCCI and VIVO suspended title sponsorship ties for the 13th season of the Indian Premier League, which will be played in Dubai, Sharjah, and Abu Dhabi.
An Indian Premier League media advisory on Thursday stated that the Board Of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) and Vivo Mobile Indian Pvt Ltd have officially agreed to suspend their partnership for the IPL season 13th, in 2020. As per the IPL Governing Council, IPL 2020 will be played from September 19 to November 10 in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). The China-based phone brand, Vivo had acquired the IPL title sponsorship in a five-year deal in 2018, for a whopping 2199 crore. A BCCI official on August 2 had revealed that BCCI and Vivo had agreed on a one-year moratorium. BCCI also told Vivo that it will see if they can extend the contract by one year after 2023.
Request For Proposal for title sponsorship of IPL 2020 issued:
An IPL council member has also revealed that the body is issuing a Request For Proposal (RFP), for the title sponsorship rights of the 13th season of IPL. He said that the process will be very transparent. Another council member said that the IPL is cricket’s most saleable product, and due to the COVID-19 pandemic, people will stay home, meaning more eyeballs will be on TV. The official further stated that senior board officials are already in talks with a couple of people.
Swiggy, Dream 11 retained as sponsors of IPL 2020:
The BCCI faced criticism from fans, political leaders, and trade unions, as it had a Chinese company as its title sponsor. At present, IPL’s Chinese links include Paytm (which has major investment from Chinese online retailer Alibaba), online fantasy league partner Dream 11, and food delivery giant Swiggy. The latter two sponsors have investments from the Chinese company Tencent. IPL’s season 13 will be held in the United Arab Emirates for 53 days, across Dubai, Sharjah, and Abu Dhabi.
