There is a technical glitch to be cleared before the Board of Control for Cricket in India could officially confirm Dream11 as the title sponsor of the Indian Premier League.
IPL Governing Council chairman Brijiesh Patel has said that Dream11 earned the naming rights for the IPL 2020. The next news to follow was that India’s fantasy sports platform will continue to be the IPL title sponsor for the next two years if Vivo fully gives up its rights.
There is no official announcement from the BCCI yet even as the process to furnish the financial bids was completed on Tuesday afternoon.
Dream11 has furnished a conditional bid for three years. The BCCI is reportedly fine with the ₹ 222 crore offer for the upcoming IPL Season 13. However, ₹ 240 crores per annum offer for the next two years is not acceptable to the board.
The offer reportedly says that if Vivo exits its IPL title rights contract, which has been extended till 2023 to accommodate the IPL 2020 paused season, Dream11 will also acquire the rights for the next two years.
The contract period for the IPL 2020 naming rights will be effective only from September 18 to December 31, under three and a half months.
According to national news agency PTI, the BCCI wants Dream 11 to revisit the ₹ 240 crores per annum quoted for the next two years.
The board also cannot accept the offer as it is an integrated bid for three years. PTI, quoting sources, has reported that this is the precise reason why the BCCI has not yet officially announced Dream11 as an IPL title rights holder.
The BCCI and Dream11 are reportedly still negotiating on the conditional three-year bid under which the company is supposed to pay ₹240 crores each in 2021 and 2022 if Vivo doesn’t make a comeback with its yearly ₹440 crore contract.
“If it’s for only the year 2020, then ₹222 crore works fine. But it was a conditional bid for three years. We still have our deal with Vivo on,” the source has reportedly told the agency. “We haven’t closed it as it’s a pause. If we are getting ₹440 crores, why will we settle for ₹240 crores?” the official asked.
The Dream11 deal in the present scenario could be confirmed only if the company agrees on the one-year deal. Or, it increases the offer for the next two seasons.