E-education brand Unacademy continues to be in the race to acquire the Indian Premier League 2020 sponsorship rights.
The Board of Control for Cricket in India has invited financial bids from all the five parties, who have submitted expressions of interest on August 14.
The financial bids will be submitted and discussed across the table today (Tuesday). The winning bid will be decided following the round of discussion and negotiations.
Tata Group continues to be the first choice. It is learned that the pitches of at least two other two brands – Dream11 and Unacademy – are going to be too strong for the board to ignore.
Unacademy, which directly competes in the e-education sphere with Byju’s, is eyeing to enhance its brand presence in cricket. The brand has already tied up with the IPL as an official partner for four years.
Dream11 it is learned is backed by a leading mobile service operator.
The strong contest between the Tata Group, Dream11 and Unacademy is expected to take the IPL rate bid value up to ₹ 300 crores, or even beyond. That signifies the market of brand IPL.
The fears that the BCCI will end up losing over 50% in the bargain to find a replacement for title sponsor Vivo, which pays ₹ 440 for the IPL title rights, are thing of the past.
The BCCI has already signed Unacademy and Cred as official partners for multiple years. Now another ₹ 300, or even more, expected to come on the table from the title deal today, the IPL more or less has equalled its sponsorship revenue purse from the past season even during the global economic slowdown due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Also read: BCCI ropes in two ‘Official Partners’ for IPL
The IPL this year will be played in the UAE from September 19 to November 10. The teams will be reaching the UAE next week and stay in a biosecure bubble in Dubai and Abu Dhabi.