One of the biggest sporting event of our country, Indian Premier League (IPL) is scheduled to start from April 7 to May 27. Inspite of the numerous controversies around IPL, the biggest commercial cricket property has always managed to pique the interest of advertisers. The 11th edition of IPL will see the come back of Rajasthan Royals and Chennai Super Kings after a two-year ban, therefore, there is an increase in interest from brand's who wants to associate themselves with the event.

Talking about the brand associations, reportedly, more than 35 leading brands have tied up with IPL Property till now. The Chinese handset manufacturer Vivo India has retained the IPL title rights till 2022. It has acquired the rights for 2,199 crore, which translates to roughly Rs 440 crores per year being added to the BCCI coffers. Vivo came into the picture in 2016, after PepsiCo's sudden withdrawal of their 5-year contract. The brand had tied up with IPL as the title sponsor for Rs 200 crore over a 2 year period. The brand recently announced their new brand ambassador Aamir Khan, who has replaced Ranveer Singh. The brand plans to extensively use Aamir in their campaigns during the IPL season.

Tata Nexon has recently announced their association with IPL 11 as the Official Partner. Paytm has been signed up as the Official Umpire Partner for Vivo IPL. Hotstar is the Official Digital Streaming Partner and CEAT is the official strategic timeout partner. Some of the other brands that are already on board are Jio, AMFI, Asian Paints, Berger Paints, Blue Star, Ceat Tyres, Crompton, Dollar, Domino's, Ford, Haier, Luminous, Pidilite, Sleep Well, Vanessa, Vimal Pan Masala, Voltas, Colgate, Amul, Coca-Cola, Dream 11, Elica, Kent, MakeMyTrip, Parle Agro, Parle Products, Polycab and Vu TV. BookMyShow is the online entertainment and ticketing platform for IPL, 2018.

This year, Star India has bagged the global media rights for the game for an estimated Rs 16,348 crore bid for five seasons (2018-22). By acquiring the broadcast rights, Star Plus has unseated their arch rival Sony Pictures Network, which held on to the rights since the last 10 years. Reportedly, it is one of the most expensive deals in cricket broadcasting history.

 

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Mar 22, 2018 01:33 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).