MUMBAI:
Dream11 have made a three-year winning bid to bag the
Indian Premier League (
IPL) title rights. The fantasy sports platform – a start-up pioneered by two Indian entrepreneurs – have made a bid for three years, subject to Vivo’s return next year.
Should Vivo India – the title sponsors who exited the space two weeks ago – come back to the table next year, Dream 11 will have to make way. However, if Vivo do not return as title sponsors, the fantasy sports start-up will continue to hold the title rights till the 2022 edition.
The 2020 deal is till December 31 post which the BCCI will take a fresh call. The break up of Dream11's winning bid is as follows: Rs 222 crore for the first year, Rs 240 crore for year two and Rs 240 crore for year three, for an average of Rs 234 crore per year.
In the wake of all the controversy surrounding Chinese investments in Indian sports, especially
cricket
, the BCCI has underlined that “Dream 11, essentially, is an Indian start-up with single-digit Chinese investment that is negligible and can be resolved internally”.
The BCCI is primarily of the view that with a digital platform coming on board, it will boost IPL’s fan engagement that has been lying passive over the last few months, especially due to the Covid19-led slowdown.
TOI can confirm that Tatas were looking to make a “handsome bid” subject to certain conditions. Tatas’ primary objective was to block three categories (different brands under the group) through the title sponsorship while the BCCI had maintained that the space would invite only a single-brand activity.
“Only one category was available to block and that’s what has not worked in favour of Tatas”, sources in the know said. The Tatas will not be releasing a statement on the bid process.
Dream11’s Rs 230 crore bid is 51% of what Vivo was paying the BCCI.
“It’s a decent amount considering the prevailing market conditions. The Board will bring two more official partners – Unacademy and Cred – to the table, which means Rs 80 cr more to the kitty,” sources added.
The BCCI is, thus, on the verge of pocketing a little in excess of Rs 300 crore.