Why did Tata Sons maintain a safe distance from IPL 2020 title sponsorship?

All speculations around the title sponsorship for IPL 2020 were put to rest on Tuesday after it was made public that Dream11 has bagged the deal for Rs 222 crore. This is exactly close to 50 per cent of last edition’s title sponsorship, as predicted by e4m in an earlier story.

The bidding for IPL 2020 title sponsorship was finally a contest among three brands — Dream11 (Rs 222 crore), BYJU’S (Rs 201 crore) and Unacademy (Rs 170 crore).

The surprise element was Tata Sons Ltd, seen as the frontline bidder by many till the end, choosing not to bid at all.

Few days back, Tata Sons Ltd had officially confirmed that it was interested in bidding for the title sponsorship for IPL 2020 but the last-minute turn of events has given rise to speculations about the decision.

A top source, who was close to the development, told e4m that though Tata Sons Ltd had officially expressed interest in bidding for the title sponsorship but their approach right from the word go was of extreme caution, given the current market scenario. With the advantage of being a legacy brand, unlike the other two bidders, their calculations had a completely different context, the source said.

“There were some quick developments that took place since Tata Sons Ltd submitted the Expression of Interest (EOI) and the final bidding day. Over the past four days, there was definitely more clarity about the scope of the sponsorship and that helped them take the decision of staying away. Also, if you see the pattern of sponsorships that Tata Sons Ltd follows, it always prefers to come with its slew of brands and it always looks at ways in which the branding can get maximized for each of its sub-brands. The title sponsorship for IPL 2020 would not have made it possible for them.”

Another source who has been part of the BCCI inner circle had a different take.

“It was a surprise that they even took the EOI, it was never going to happen. If you go by logic, Tata Motors is already in, and the auto sector is not doing well. So they would not increase their inflow. Also, if you look at IPL sponsorship patterns, there is no precedent of sorts where two brands of the same company are in one league. Also I think Tata Sons Ltd realised the ROI for them would never justify the spending for title sponsorship and they preferred to stay away on the final day.”

Another version doing the rounds is that by convincing Tata Sons Ltd to submit EOI, BCCI successfully managed to take the bid stakes to a higher level.