Reports: BCCI sets base price of INR 350 crore for lead sponsorship rights

The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has set a base price of INR 350 crore for the lead sponsorship rights of the national cricket team. This comes after the apex cricket board released the tender for national team lead sponsor rights on Wednesday, June 14, which is available for purchase until June 26.

It is understood that the BCCI set a base price lower than the amount paid by the edtech company BYJU’s, the previous lead sponsor. The Bengaluru-based firm was paying INR 5.07 crore per match for the domestic fixtures featuring team India and INR 1.56 crore per match for ICC and ACC tournaments.

As per a report by The Economic Times, the cricket board has significantly reduced the base price for the sponsorship rights, set at INR 350 crore. A sports business expert called BCCI’s decision as wise considering the current market for advertisements. 

"BCCI has set a realistic base price for the lead sponsor rights. The ad market is tough, and the new-age sponsors who were spending large sums of money on cricket have cut their marketing budgets drastically due to the funding winter," the expert said on the condition of anonymity, as quoted by Economic Times.

The report further states that an estimated INR 2,000-2,500 crore worth of on-ground sponsorship inventory across the Indian Premier League (IPL) and bilateral matches will become available this year as stated by Vinit Karnik, GroupM South Asia head of sports, esports, and entertainment.

GroupM India Sports Sponsorship Report 2023 stated that the advertising revenue of the Indian sports industry saw a tremendous 49% surge to INR 14,209 crore in 2022, and is expected to reach INR 16,000 crore in 2023. The agency further adds that the ad revenue could potentially attain INR 20,000 crore at the close of 2025.

Coming back to the lead sponsorship rights, the BCCI has barred betting, crypto-currency, tobacco, and real-money gaming companies from bidding. An official statement is expected to be released once the deal is struck prior to the ODI World Cup in India in October-November.