BCCI slashes base price of title sponsor rights to Rs 2.4 crore per match in India

economictimes.indiatimes.com:

Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has dropped the base price of title sponsor rights for international cricket matches played in the country to Rs 2.4 crore per match from Rs 3.8 crore per match that MasterCard and Paytm had paid in the last cycle. The overall base price for the three-year title sponsor rights works out to Rs 134.4 crore. The three-year title sponsor rights will kick off in September this year and end in August 2026.

The agreement will cover 56 matches, including 15 Tests, 15 ODIs and 26 T20 internationals. The title sponsor will get the naming rights to all the bilateral series played by Team India. The tender for the title sponsor rights, which was issued on August 1, will be available for purchase until August 21.

This is the second time the world's richest cricket board has dropped the base price of its sponsorship asset amid tepid demand for high-cost cricket properties and the exit of the new-age brands, which are focusing on conserving cash. The BCCI recently set a base price for digital rights higher than that for TV. It also lowered the overall base price to Rs 45 crore per match for the upcoming media rights cycle from the Rs 61 crore per match that Disney Star paid in the recently concluded cycle.

Between 2019 and 2023, Paytm and MasterCard held the title sponsor rights and paid Rs 3.8 crore per match for the international matches played in India. MasterCard had come in as the title sponsor towards the end of the deal's tenure as a replacement for Paytm, which had originally acquired the rights in 2019. Paytm replaced Micromax as the title sponsor rights holder in 2015 with a bid of Rs 2.42 crore per match.