Dream11, the fantasy gaming startup based on cricket, has bagged the sponsorship rights for the Indian Premier League 2020. It has outbid other major bidders for the cash-rich league purely on the basis of the volume of the sponsorship money it had to offer to the BCCI, according to various media reports.
The competitors included giants like the Tata Group, as well as EdTech startups like Byju’s and Unacademy. Dream11 offered to pay Rs 222 crore which was relatively higher than the sponsorship fees offered by other bidders for the 13th season of the IPL. For the sponsorship rights, Unacademy offered to pay Rs 210 crore, while Tata offered Rs 180 crore and Byju’s could offer only Rs 125 crore to the BCCI.
Notably, the Tatas had apparently wanted some “barter deal” in return for the IPL 2020 rights fee and the BCCI did not agree. If the Tata Group had bagged the IPL title rights, it would have been a first for them in cricket.
Vivo, a fully-funded Chinese firm, was initially the sponsor for this tournament and had withdrawn after calls for boycotting Chinese products grew louder, following the Galwan Valley Clash. The Indian government banned several Chinese apps, prompting the withdrawal. This caused a void in sponsorship, leading to the auction.