The quest for getting a new title sponsor for the 2020 edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL) finally ended for the BCCI as Dream11, a fantasy sports platform, acquired the sponsorship rights for the cash-rich league.
Dream11 outbid ed-tech startups like Byjus and Unacademy to win the race. They will be paying a whopping INR 222 crore for a one-year deal.
It all started when the Chinese mobile manufacturer VIVO, whose contract ran till 2022, pulled out its name midway after sensing negative publicity. The armed conflict between India and China at the Galwan Valley has sparked a lot of rage and fury against Chinese brands in the nation.
Ironically, Dream11 is financially backed by a Chinese behemoth, Tencent Holdings Ltd. But, the BCCI maintained that Dream11 is an Indian company based out in Mumbai.
“It’s an Indian company. I mean there are so many companies that have Chinese investment. There are Bigbasket, HDFC and many other companies. So what are you going to do about it?” IPL Governing Council chairman Brijesh Patel told The Indian Express.
The new logo for the IPL was shared on Instagram by a defending champion Mumbai Indians.
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Patel earlier remarked that the association with Dream11 will work wonders for the league. He said: “We welcome Dream11 on board as Title Sponsor for the 2020 edition of the IPL. Dream11 upgrading their association from an Official Partner to Title Sponsors is a great testament to the brand IPL. Dream11 as a fantasy sports brand will only grow the engagement of the IPL with its fans. ”
“As a digital brand it will give them leverage to create exciting online engagement for fans sitting at home and watching the matches. We look forward to delivering great value to Dream11,” Patel was quoted as saying in the release.
