Although there were rumours that the popularity of cricket in India would decline as ODIs became less important and more attention was paid to T20Is and Test cricket, the sport is still very popular. According to a recent report, sports sponsorships in the nation increased to an astounding ₹15,000 crore in 2023, despite the format’s evolution. Moreover, the sports sponsors have invested the most in cricket.
The entertainment, esports, and sports division of GroupM India, GroupM ESP, released a report highlighting the sponsorship dominance of cricket, which accounted for 87% of the total spending at ₹13,701 crore. This represented a 13% annual growth.
The Indian Premier League (IPL) title sponsorship rights were recently acquired by the TATA Group for an unprecedented ₹2,500 crore spread over five years. TATA is a sponsor of the Women’s Premier League and has supported the IPL in 2022 and 2023.
Sports sponsors numbers:
The Indian Premier League (IPL) saw its valuation soar to $10.7 billion in 2023, up 28% from 2022 and an astounding 433% since its launch in 2008. Major League Baseball and the English Premier League set records with their $14.2 million broadcast value per game.
While IPL TV ad spending fell by 17%, digital ad spending increased by more than 25% and now makes up 40% of all sports ad spending. An extra push came from the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup, as TV and digital advertising increased by more than 40% in comparison to the 2022 T20 World Cup.
Apart from cricket, emerging sports saw a slight decrease of 1%, but they still made up 13% of industry spending, at ₹2,065 crore. The real growth engine, though, was franchise fees, which shot up to ₹2,628 crore, a 60% increase. This helped to propel overall sponsorship revenue to ₹7,345 crore, a 24% increase.
The future of cricket in India looks brighter than ever as the country continues to demonstrate its love of the game through massive sponsorship deals and creative digital engagement. Cricket’s enduring legacy has been cemented by the nation’s unwavering love of the game, which has translated into a financial powerhouse.
So, this was all about the Sports sponsors and their donations. Also read, Cricketer Virat Kohli gets a new stylish look for IPL 2024!
