The sponsors of the Indian Premier League are increasingly getting nervous as they discovered the betting, spot-fixing contaminated league is giving a negative impact on their brands. Many are even thinking of withdrawing.
IPL title sponsor PepsiCo bought the rights for close to Rs 400 crore for five years in 2012. They may remain till the end of this season but will reconsider its association with the league only after confirming favorable situation. The other major long-term sponsors are Vodafone, Star India and Yes! Bank.
Sahara has already proclaimed its decision to withdraw as the Indian cricket team sponsor for different reasons. It stated reason for this is the raw deal it has allegedly received from BCCI as an IPL franchise, those who are known point out that Sahara gathers money from the public and the collection depends on people's faith. Sources indicated that its association with a scandal-ridden game was proving negative for its business.
A senior official in the know regarding the dilemma faced by PepsiCo declared that first they overpaid for the rights which is almost double of what DLF (earlier title sponsor) did. At present, they are under pressure not only because of the money but also because of the fixing charges have placed the IPL in a negative light.
A statement released by PepsiCo while responding to a formal query did not deny any decision to quit the IPL but just expressed that it wouldn't comment on media speculation. The major sponsors admitted that they were closely watching the developments and opined that it doesn't make any sense for them to withdraw at this point of time as the most important matches - the playoff for the remaining final spot including CSK are already up and the final are yet to be played.
The president of MSM Rohit Gupta had not received any requests from on-air sponsors to withdraw. He assured that if corrective steps are taken there is no need to worry even for the next year. On the other hand, media planners speculated that there would be questions raised about the credibility of the league next year.
The COO of media-buying agency Lodestar Universal Nandini Dias commented on the issue that with just two matches left to play, it does not make business sense for TV sponsors to withdraw. However for long-term sponsors it is a major concern after considering the money they have spent. In case they want to withdraw on IPL, it will be intricate considering the way these agreements are framed.
To be frank, certain sections of the cricketing fraternity insisted that knowing BCCI's style of functioning, PepsiCo will never be able to, over the next five years can get their title rights deal with IPL renegotiated even if they have overpaid.
We have already witnessed the latest instance where Sahara struggled to do that when they felt they were overpaying. Hence it is a simple case of either staying associated with the IPL within the agreed contract or pull out citing the charges. Anyway, we cannot ignore the fact that the IPL is about to conclude. Only two matches are left to be played. So it is meaningless on the part of the sponsors to decide to pull out.
