Indian Premier League (IPL) has waded through rough waters and is all set for the seventh edition to begin on April 16. The Board of Control Cricket in India (BCCI) has managed to get things in place but some of the IPL franchises are still struggling to find the sponsors. Teams like Sunrisers Hyderabad, Delhi Daredevils and Kings XI Punjab have seen a drastic drop in the number of sponsors associated with the tournament. IPL went through turbulent times towards the end of sixth edition when three players were arrested for their alleged involvement in spot-fixing.
According to a report by Hindustan Times, Delhi Daredevils are searching for sponsors whose name could adorn the front of the players’ jerseys. Panasonic, the ‘right-chest’ sponsor and Adidas, the ‘non-lead arm’ sponsor have showed no interest this year. Kings XI Punjab have just four sponsors in hand till now in comparison to the total of 15 last year. Whereas, the Sunrisers Hyderabad have just five as of now.
MD of Panasonic Manish Sharma, said, “The mass interest in IPL has gone down considerably every year, resulting in lowering of the return on investment. As a result, we are likely to spend less on IPL this year.
Although we will continue to spend on advertising in IPL this year as well, our investment will be directed more towards this year’s elections, which have more public leverage. We plan to invest in ad spots on properties featuring the general elections,” he added.
“The sponsorship scenario is in a bit of a flux for a couple of reasons. Since the first leg of the tournament is being held in the UAE, sponsors are a bit worried as it is going to affect their marketing activation and promotional activities, which are localised in nature. UAE would hardly offer them opportunity for branding and promotional activities. Secondly, the turbulent phase IPL is passing through owing to recent controversies, the sponsors are wary of putting money on an investment where returns look dodgy,” Atul Srivastav, managing partner of Gaames Unlimited was quoted as saying by the paper.
According to the report, an IPL franchisee makes around 35 crores an year selling the spaces on the IPL jerseys. But many of the spaces could go unsold and has opened up space for negotiations as well. CEO of Sunrisers Hyderabad, K Shanmugam though looked positive: “We are in the process of finalising a few sponsors…discussions are on. In a day or two, we will announce our sponsors.”
But the going hasn’t been tough for popular franchises of the IPL. The report states, Mumbai Indians, Kolkata Knight Riders, Chennai Super Kings, Rajasthan Royals have had a smooth run finding their sponsors and retaining the previous ones.
“Our sponsors are always with us, and our growth in terms of sponsorship is 15-20 per cent per annum. With the kind of brand that MI has built around its franchise, we have been successful in getting sponsors like Bridgestone and Walt Disney who were not in cricket space before. One more global brand is soon going to get associated with MI for this year,” an official from the Mumbai Indians stated.
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