With Vivo’s upgraded investment, IPL is now the world’s richest sports league

Ever since its inception in the year 2008, the Indian Premier League (IPL) has enjoyed immense popularity. And increasing reputation meant more attention from various brands. Real estate giant DLF was the very first title sponsors of the cash-rich league. They were succeeded by soft drink giant Pepsi, after which Vivo, the Chinese mobile manufacturer bagged the rights for a period of two years (2016 and 2017).

However, in their latest bidding, they agreed to invest more than their rivals Oppo (that offered 1,430 crore) and extended their rights for a period of another five years. IPL sold the title rights to Vivo at Rs. 2,199 crore. This is a testament to how big a market Vivo considers India, and how big a platform the IPL is to them. A BCCI statement explained that the role of the company in the coming five years of the IPL will be to work on all IPL related events, on the on-ground activations, and engaging in marketing campaigns.

In the wake of this investment surge, HT Mint analyzed how IPL is now the richest sports league in the world. Vivo’s IPL title sponsorship of Rs 2,199 crore comes up to to Rs 440 crore a year, which is way higher than the Rs 330 crore English Premier League’s sponsor Barclays paid between 2013-16. The report also stated that EPL is now sponsored by Mondelez International Inc., but how much has it agreed to pay is not told to the media yet.

IPL’s popularity attracts sponsors 

The fact that makes IPL the most popular T20 league in the world is that almost all the big names from the world of cricket participate in the tournament, which is why it does not just attract India viewers but has a global audience. In the process, there is no death of companies wanting to invest in this grand sporting platform. And with so much money being given by the sponsors, it is the IPL that is the winner in the end.