India’s leading fantasy sports platform Dream11 can replace Vivo as the Indian Premier League title sponsor.
E-learning brand Unacademy is another key contender.
The Board of Control for Cricket in India will be floating the invitation to invite tender for the IPL 2020 title sponsorship. The process is required after the Chinese mobile handset manufacturer Vivo and the BCCI have agreed to suspend their contract for the IPL Season 13.
Vivo’s ₹ 440 crores per annum contract, which was run till 2022 has instead been extended by a year.
The BCCI now has to find the title sponsor for the IPL 2020, to be held from September 19 to November 10.
Dream11, according to a media buyer, is seeing a value in the deal as the brand is also expanding its market base in the middle east. The sports technology company Dream Sports, which owns Dream11, FanCode, DreamX, DreamSetGo and DreamPay brands, is among the country’s leading spenders on cricket.
As BCCI is prepared to take a cut on the record value Vivo has been offering, there can be an intense battle for the IPL title rights. Brands like Byju’s and Amazon are also tipped to join the bid process.
Multiple bids can see BCCI getting a winning bid of up to ₹ 250 crore. Market experts had already opined the board might end up losing up to ₹ 175 crore to ₹ 190 crores in the economic scenario weakened by the COVID-19 pandemic.
It is learnt IPL CEO Hemang Amin is directly in touch with several brands to workout the best possible deal.