Byju’s has assured itself a significant on-air presence for the Indian Premier League 2020 LIVE broadcast. Star India, the IPL host broadcaster, has roped in the education technology brand, as the fourth co-presenting partner for the upcoming league.
Byju’s thus joins Amazon, IPL title sponsors Dream11 and PhonePe as the co-presenting partners for the IPL 2020, to be played in the UAE from September 19 to November 10.
A formal announcement from the broadcaster or Byju’s is still awaited.
With the Byju’s deal, Star India by the last weekend has signed 31 brands for the IPL 2020. Star Sports, according to market sources, has sold around 60% IPL inventory, grossing more than ₹ 1,250 crores.
Coca-Cola, United Spirits Limited (USL), Ceat Tires, Rummy Circles, ITC Foods, Cadbury’s Mondelez, Muthoot Finance and Adani Group are prominent among ‘Associate Sponsors’. The list also included the likes of Asian Paints, Titan Watches, MRF tires, Kamla Pasand, PolyCab, Swiggy, Hyundai and Maruti.
Anglo-Dutch multinational consumer goods brand Reckitt Benckiser and British multinational brand GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) are among the new entrants. “Response from the FMCG sector has been unprecedented. The upcoming festival season has extended the IPL reach to several other segments,” said the media buyer. “It’s also the time when electronic brands spend in a big way.”
In yet another significant development, Star India has increased the inventory for the pre-match shows from traditional 16 minutes to 19 minutes.
The elaborate IPL broadcast plans will involve a 700-strong production crew and a commentary panel of over 90 cricket experts, who will rotate between Star India studios in Mumbai and the UAE.
Besides all the prominent Star Sports network Channels, the LIVE matches on the inaugural day, September 19; over the weekends and all the games in the knockout stage will be broadcast on network’s other genre channels, like cinema, GEC and regional non-sports network.