Paytm spends $32 M to seal deal with BCCI for sponsoring all bilateral series to be played by India over next 4 years

In one of the expensive marketing deals by any digital company, Paytm has clinched the title rights from Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) for all international and domestic bilateral series hosted by the cricket board over the next four years.

The deal, which runs till 2019, appoints Paytm as the title sponsor for every bilateral home series (a total of 84 matches) hosted by BCCI.

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The deal will take effect from the home series against South Africa starting in September this year. Importantly, it also includes all BCCI domestic (Ranji and Dilip trophy etc.) matches in India. The Noida-based company will shell out a whopping INR 2.42 crore for every match, which essentially means the deal will cost INR 203 crore (approx US $32 million).

This is one of the biggest marketing deal by any digital company with BCCI, which was largely dominated by big groups like Sahara, Pepsi, and ITC. Speaking on securing the title rights for BCCI, Vijay Shekhar Sharma, Founder and CEO of Paytm, said,

We are delighted at becoming the title sponsors for all BCCI India cricket series for the next four years. We firmly believe the partnership with cricket in India will help establish us even further as the dominant mobile commerce company in the country. As a growing brand which has big plans for a billion strong Indians, there is no platform better than cricket in India.

The Alibaba backed-company had allocated INR 500 crore marketing budget this year. Earlier, it had spent about INR 50 crore during last IPL season. Paytm served as an associate sponsor on Sony TV network (which has telecast right of IPL) and was the official partner of Mumbai Indians.

Speaking on the deal, Secretary of the BCCI, Anurag Thakur said,

​We are elated to have Paytm as our homes series title sponsors. They are one of the new generation companies and we are delighted to partner with them. With nearly 84 matches scheduled over the next four years with all major countries playing in India, we are hopeful that Paytm will be able to build a strong and strategic association with cricket.

YourStory’s take

Cricket is considered as a religion in India and has a mass appeal. Hence, the deal makes a lot of sense for Paytm which has multiple business models like recharge, marketplace, payment, and wallet etc. With this partnership, Paytm will create bigger impact as far as marketing and brand recall are concerned.

Besides digital channels, Paytm has also been creating a lot of buzz across various marketing and branding channels, including television, radio, print, and outdoor. Prior to Paytm, Snapdeal sponsored widely hailed television reality shows like BigBoss, Roadies, and SplitsVilla.

The Softbank-backed ventured had spent INR 35 crore to sponsor BigBoss alone while YepMe shelled out INR 30 crore for sponsoring the West Indies team during last Cricket World Cup. With deep pockets, digital startups are leaving no stone unturned to create deeper brand connect and engagement with consumers.