Dream Sports, the parent of India's largest fantasy game platform, bagged the title sponsorship of the Indian Premier League this year for Rs 220 crore. While that's about half of what the previous sponsor paid, it came when the global economy is contracting because of the pandemic.
For the 2019 edition, Chinese smartphone maker Vivo paid Rs 440 crore, a tenfold increase from Rs 40 crore that DLF Ltd. paid in 2008.
The T20 championship, one of the most popular leagues in the world, and the participating teams were never short of sponsors. Some have stayed on for years.
Sponsors, Forever
Brands like Kingfisher could be seen on nearly every IPL team kit in the initial seasons. That tag has now been taken over by Reliance Jio Infocomm Ltd., a sponsor with all the eight participating teams in some form or the other.
Mumbai-based tyremaker Balkrishna Industries Ltd. is sponsoring six out of the eight participating teams this season.
Besides, local sponsors include Muthoot Finance Ltd., Ralco Tyres Ltd., Jai Raj Steel Ltd. that are sponsoring Chennai Super Kings, Royal Challengers Bangalore and the Sunrisers Hyderabad.
Some sponsors and owners, however, have dropped off.
Vijay Mallya is no longer seen cheering for the RCB in Indian stadiums after he fled the country amid legal troubles over unpaid loans.
Dewan Housing Finance Ltd., too, ran into trouble towards the end of last year over alleged loan fraud. It will no longer be the title sponsor for the Mumbai Indians—a team it was associated with for seven seasons.
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