Tata Group Retains IPL Title Sponsorship For 5-Year Period Using RTM Option - Reports

Tata Group has retained the title sponsorship for the Indian Premier League (IPL). As per the various media reports, it is learned that they used the Right To Match (RTM) option to retain the rights of the league for the next 5 years.

The reports suggested that Tata Group will have to pay the sum of INR 500 crore to the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) for the next five years as a fee for IPL title sponsorship.

It is learned that Aditya Birla Group was in contention to acquire the IPL title sponsorship. However, Tata Group used the RTM to match the bid.  The governing body recently released the tender for title sponsorship rights for the IPL seasons 2024-2028.

BCCI set the base price of  ₹1,750 crore over five years or ₹350 crore per year, for 74 matches. Aditya Birla Group reportedly was the sole bidder and it is learned that they made a bid higher than the base price set by the governing body.

#breaking Tata Group set to continue as IPL title sponsor..as per sources they have exercised RTM option to match the bid of Birlas..but they will pay up 500 cr per year to continue as IPL title sponsors for the next 5 years:)

— Gaurav Gupta (@toi_gauravG) January 19, 2024

Aditya Birla Group made a bid of INR 500 per year for the next five years. Tata Group paid INR 670 crores for the last two IPL seasons. BCCI is reportedly planning to increase games to 84 in 2025 and 2026 and 94 in 2027. Therefore the rights cost might increase.

According to the rules by BCCI, the Tata group had the right of refusal, but they had to match the highest bid -Rs 500 cr per year by the ABG Group -to retain the rights.

The last edition of the league attracted over 500 million viewers on TV and around 450 million viewers on digital platforms. Earlier, DLF, Pepsi, Vivo, and Dream11 held the rights before Tata acquired the rights.

IPL 2024 to begin from March 22

The IPL 2024 reportedly is all set to begin from March 22. There have been a lot of speculations if the league will be played in India or not. The reason behind this has been the Lok Sabha elections, which are scheduled to be held between April and May.

During the 2009 elections, IPL took place in South Africa. However, this time around there have been no plans to host the tournament outside India. BCCI source revealed that the league will be played alongside the general election. Speaking to ANI, he explained:

“There is nothing like that, to shift the tournament outside the country, as the general election will also be at the same time. If any state doesn’t want to host the match at that time, with any justified reason, the match could be shifted to another venue.”

The IPL 2024 auctions took place in Dubai recently. Mitchell Starc became the most expensive player at INR 24.75 crore. Pat Cummins too was acquired INR 20 crore. There were a lot of young guns as well who fetched big amounts in the auction. With the kind of players, each team has it promises to be an exciting series. It will also be a great preparation for all the International players for the T20 World Cup 2024, set to be played in June.