IPL 2024 sees over Rs 300-crore jersey deals by sports marketing firm Rise Worldwide

Reliance Industries-run Rise Worldwide has sealed over 50 jersey deals for the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024, said a top official of the company.

The sports marketing company was able to facilitate five front-of-shirt deals out of the total 10 deals, said Nikhil Bardia, head of Rise Worldwide, a sports entertainment and lifestyle venture. "We have seen a 20 percent growth in sponsorship investments from the teams point of view."

Moneycontrol has learnt that the company has recorded over Rs 300 crore worth jersey deals out of all the partner deals, including digital deals and stadium activation.

Bardia said that while the environment was tough, team deals have been a highlight during the 17th edition of IPL.

"This year, with the winter funding for startups, they have been very cautious investors in cricket and the IPL specifically. We are seeing traditional brands back in the game which were overshadowed by the startups in the last few years," he said adding that non-fungible token as a category is absent this year from the IPL sponsorship scene.

"The NFT category, which was a big driver last year, has taken a backseat this year. However, the fantasy (gaming) category is still relevant. Franchises have done a good job in communicating with brands under the guidance of the BCCI (Board of Control for Cricket in India)."

Bardia added that 2024 has been an interesting year with brands having many sponsorship deal opportunities. "There was the Cricket World Cup (2023) in this financial year (FY24) which is a marquee event. Additionally, there were BCCI central rights up for grabs. Plus, we had a lot of new T20 leagues coming and growing."

He said that India's sports sponsorship market is reaching a certain level of maturity.

"The yield on partnerships has increased which means that as a market we are reaching a certain level of maturity on how sponsorship has to be looked at in terms of a lot of long term deals. This year most of the inventory available were all big ticket inventories versus small ones and that is how the deals were very strategic in nature for the season. There were more front of shirts available than lead arm of jersey, or caps. That was the big change we saw in the market."

In a tricky year, when there are general elections scheduled, the IPL continues to hold its resonance as the biggest sponsorship platform in India, Bardia said.

Sports sponsorships including ground, team and franchise fee; athlete endorsements, and media spends by brands have recorded over Rs 15,000 crore in revenue last year.

IPL has propelled India to the list of nations with the most influential sports competitions, and has become a symbol of pride for us, as well as an ambassador for cricket in the world of sports. The valuation of this blue-chip T20 fest has grown to reach a majestic figure of $10.7 billion, a 28 percent leap from the $8.4 billion that the corresponding amount was in 2022, said India Sports Sponsorship Report 2024 by GroupM.

Since the 2008 launch, the total brand value of the IPL system has surged by 433 percent, the report added.

Disclosure: Moneycontrol is a part of the Network18 group. Network18 is controlled by Independent Media Trust, of which Reliance Industries is the sole beneficiary.

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