Tata Group has retained the title sponsorship rights for the Indian Premier League (IPL) for a five-year period starting in 2024. Tata is set to pay INR 500 crore for each season till 2028 after the conglomerate matched the highest bid by the Aditya Birla Group. The Invitation to Tender (ITT), as per reports, gave Tata, who was the title sponsor for a couple of years, the privilege to match the offer by any other organisation.
As per a Cricbuzz report, Aditya Birla Group presented an INR 2500 crore bid but the Tata Group matched it. Tata came into IPL sponsorship in 2022 into a co-deal with Vivo, a Chinese smartphone manufacturing brand, who pulled out of the five-year deal due to the rising tensions between India and China. Vivo’s withdrawal was on a sub-licensing basis which meant, Tata paid INR 365 crore for each year while the Chinese brand paid the rest out of a total INR 512 crore amount.
Vivo had signed a five-year deal in 2018, which extended to six years due to COVID at INR 2199 crore. After Tata and Vivo’s co-licensing deal came to an end, the BCCI invited corporate entities to sign for the title sponsorship rights. Since Tata matched Aditya Birla Group’s deal, the BCCI decided to award the deal to them.
The 2024 IPL likely to start in March last week
With the T20 World Cup 2024 slated to kick off on June 1, the BCCI will eye at least a 10-day gap with the 2024 edition of the IPL. Hence, IPL 17 could have a March last week start but the schedule would only be announced once the dates for general elections are out since both the major events in the country are set to clash.