Vivo Set To Sever Ties With IPL Due To Political Pressure

Indian Premier League (IPL) title sponsor Vivo is poised to rescind its deal with the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) two seasons early, according to reports.

Homegrown fantasy sports platform Dream11 stood in at the last minute as title sponsor of last year’s edition of the world’s richest T20 tournament after Vivo opted to sit out amid political tensions between China and India.

It was reported at the time that Vivo could return to fulfil the remainder of its five-year contract, which is due to run until 2022 and is worth around US$60m annually, representing the largest sponsorship deal in Indian sport.

However, several media outlets in India are now reporting that Vivo is looking to transfer the remainder of its contract to another brand as it is unable to honour its commitment due to the tensed political situation.

According to Indian magazine Outlook, Dream11, which paid US$30m – or half of what Vivo was paying – to sponsor the IPL in 2020, and online education platform Unacademy are favourites to take up the remainder of Vivo’s contract.

Speaking to the Press Trust of India, an unnamed BCCI official said that Vivo’s exit is all but confirmed.

“It’s almost final that Vivo will exit the IPL title sponsorship deal by mutual consent with the board,” the official said. “It was suspended for the 2020 edition. However, there is a clause that allows them to transfer their pending liabilities as one-time title sponsors. If [the] board agrees on principle, it can happen.”

If confirmed, Vivo’s exit would sever its long-running association with the IPL, which it has sponsored since 2015, when it replaced Pepsi.