IPL 2024 Sponsorship Dilemma: Are Brands Hesitant to Splurge Amid Broadcasters Negotiations?

by  Niddhi Sharma Industry Watch | March 14, 2024 | Feature

IPL 2024 JioCinema Disney Star Star Sports BCCI

The 17th season of Indian Premier League (IPL) is all set to commence from March 22, 2024, at the Chepauk Stadium, Chennai. IPL is one of the most favorite cricket leagues to watch in India and has a different craze, where this time a total of 10 teams have participated in it. 

Brands are equally eyeing for IPL 2024 as they get to promote themselves through this platform. Major cricketing events in 2023 witnessed a massive turnout of both large and growing brands as over 300 brands were advertised on TV. 

While just a week remains for IPL 2024 to kick off the broadcasters are maintaining a tight-lipped stance on the mega event, refraining from making any announcements and statements or giving any interviews regarding their offerings or the sponsors they have secured so far. 

IPL 2024: Broadcasters - TV & OTT Channels

JioCinema

JioCinema, the official streaming platform for the upcoming Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024, has signed six associate partners for the tournament so far. 

Last year, Jio roped in 21 sponsors before the start of the league. Considering that JioCinema has maintained its rates from 2023 and has a smaller ticket size, planners argue that digital is slightly better placed when it comes to closing deals. JioCinema has not raised its prices this year.

The platform is seeking ad rates to the tune of Rs 200-250 per 10 seconds for midroll ads and Rs 250-300 per 10 seconds for pre-roll ads.  The only change is an increase of Rs 25 in the pre-roll ad rate, which started from Rs 225 last year. The spot rate for advertising on CTV also stands at Rs 6.5 lakh per 10 seconds.

Star Network:

Disney Star

Disney Star has marginally increased rates for the upcoming season. The broadcaster is seeking Rs 71 crore for co-presenting sponsorship and Rs 35 crore for associate sponsorship for HD channels. For SD channels, the broadcaster is seeking outlays of Rs 167 crore and Rs 83 crore for co-presenting and associate sponsorships, respectively. Its spot buy rates are Rs 12.8 lakh per 10 seconds and Rs 5.45 lakh per 10 seconds for SD and HD, respectively. Some sources close to the broadcaster revealed that the combined ad rate for SD and HD for IPL 2024 is Rs 16.4 lakh, compared to Rs 16 lakh in 2023. 

Star Sports

Star Sports has introduced a plethora of opportunities enabling advertiser participation across budgets and goals. 

Categories include Lifestyle, Luggage, Health, Snacking, Nutrition, Beauty, Airline, Grooming, and Technology. Brands can leverage live features, branded capsules, and live bugs to enhance brand recall and deepen their association with viewers beyond traditional advertising.

With IPL on television, brands can now advertise more flexibly and target specific geographies as well as focus on franchise-specific buys. Brands can leverage high-impact, bite-sized assets like squeeze-ups and push-backs on a daily, weekly, or fortnightly basis. These assets offer a low-cost, high-impact opportunity for brands aiming to drive salience, call to action, or moment ownership. A game-changing opportunity for early-age startups to showcase their brand or product story in a crisp 60-second ad during IPL matches on TV. 

A look back at IPL 2023 Sponsors 

The IPL 2023 had a total of 13 sponsors, who were divided into four categories: title sponsor, official partners, umpire partner, and strategic timeout partner. Here is the complete list of the sponsors for the IPL 2023:

Title Sponsor: Vivo had signed a five-year deal worth Rs. 2,199 crore with the IPL in 2017, but had to withdraw from the sponsorship in 2020 due to the border tensions between India and China. However, Vivo has resumed its sponsorship for the IPL 2023, as per its original contract. Vivo will pay Rs. 440 crore per year to the IPL as the title sponsor.

Official Partners: There were four official partners for the IPL 2023, who were:

Dream11: Dream11 has been an official partner of the IPL since 2018, and had also stepped in as the title sponsor for the IPL 2020 in place of Vivo. Dream11 will pay Rs. 240 crore per year to the IPL as an official partner.

Tata Safari: Tata Safari has been an official partner of the IPL since 2018, and has also been providing cars for the player of the match and  of the tournament awards.

Unacademy: Unacademy has been an official partner of the IPL since 2020, and has also been sponsoring the “Let’s Crack It” sixes award.

CRED: CRED has been an official partner of the IPL since 2020, and has also been sponsoring the “CRED Power Player” award for the best performer in each innings.

Umpire Partner: Paytm has been the umpire partner of the IPL since 2015, and has also been sponsoring the “Paytm Fair Play” award for the team with the best conduct on and off the field.

Strategic Timeout Partner: CEAT Tyres has been the strategic timeout partner of the IPL since 2015, and has also been sponsoring the “CEAT Strategic Timeout” award for the best strategic decision made by a team during a match.

Why Brands are not opting to sponsor IPL 2024? 

Despite the broadcasters releasing rate cards as early as the first week of January, sources indicate that most discussions with the brands are yet to materialize into finalized deals for them. Industry insiders speculate that brands are holding back in anticipation of rate reductions by the broadcasters closer to the IPL.   

The upcoming general elections is perceived as one of the factors hindering deal closures, as brands expect to get more clarity on where to spend their money. 

This indicates that despite the IPL's global prominence, the response to the sponsorship tender has not been overwhelmingly positive this year.