BCCI in talks with potential sponsors for home season title rights

The bidding process for the title sponsorship of Indian cricket remains open-ended, with no significant interest emerging so far to acquire the rights. The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) had set August 13 as the deadline for submitting bids, but Cricketlineguruji understands that there were either no bidders or the bids received did not meet expectations.

Industry sources have indicated that the board is engaged in talks with potential corporates. Google Gemini, the artificial intelligence and generative-AI brand that has been associated with several sporting properties of late, is understood to be among the brands being discussed. Spinny and SBI Life are the other parties that are apparently being spoken to.

The key reason for the apparent lack of interest is the high base price, pegged at INR 4.85 crore per match - approximately 15.5 percent higher than the existing value of INR 4.2 crore that the current rights holder IDFC First Bank is paying. The bank had won the rights exactly three years ago. This time, however, the BCCI is selling the rights for only two years (ending March 31, 2028), covering approximately 35 home internationals, including 10 Tests, 12 ODIs and 13 T20Is.

“For tendering purposes only, and without constituting any representation, warranty, commitment or minimum guarantee by BCCI, BCCI presently expects that it may host approximately 35 (thirty-five) Chargeable Matches during the Rights Period, subject always to the final schedule determined by the BCCI in its sole and absolute,” the BCCI said in its ITT.

In the previous cycle, there were 55 internationals, requiring IDFC First Bank to shell out around INR 231 crore. Should the new sponsor secure the rights at the base price, the BCCI would earn at least INR 171 crore over a period of two years from the title sponsorship. It would be more if the BCCI manages to secure a bid higher than the base price.

Quite a few parties have bought the ITT for the property, which went on sale on July 20 at a cost of INR 1 lakh, which was non-refundable. Parties and agencies including GroupM, ITW and Sporty Solutions have purchased the ITT document. The last date for the purchase of the ITT was August 5.

The BCCI has time to negotiate the deal, as the first home international of the season is only on September 27, when the West Indies visit India. A short three-match T20I series against Afghanistan will be played in mid-September, but, as is well known, those will be Afghanistan Cricket Board's home games.

Unlike in the past, the BCCI has also released a Request for Quotation (RFQ) for the Associate Partner Rights for BCCI events. The deadline for bid submissions is August 25, but the Associate Partner can be finalised only after the title sponsor is decided, as the title sponsor and Associate Partners cannot be from the same sector.

The BCCI has set different reserve prices in this category, with beverage brands required to pay more. It says, “The reserve price for the Rights for each Chargeable Match during the Rights Period is as follows: INR 95,00,000 (Indian Rupees Ninety-Five Lakhs only) per Chargeable Match.”

However, it goes on to add, “In the event that the Brand/Product Category of the Associate Partner is cold beverages, the reserve price shall instead be INR 1,15,00,000 (Indian Rupees One Crore Fifteen Lakhs only) per Chargeable Match.”