BENGALURU: Edtech major BYJU’S has extended its Team India shirt sponsor deal with the BCCI for another 18 months (until the end of 2023).
Its original term expired in March just before the start of IPL 2022. The extension is valued at around $55 million in toto, or roughly $1m per game that Team India will play over the next 18 months.
The brand had replaced OPPO in a pathbreaking deal in 2019 when the smartphone brand wanted to hand over the remainder of its term after being a Team India sponsor for two and a half years.
BYJU’S – a natural fit considering how much overlap there is between the prime cricket-watching audience and their target audience – was brought in by ITW Universe, who consulted the brand and the BCCI on stitching together what has now become one of world sport’s most recognisable partnerships. The recently concluded South Africa tour of India, for a five-match T20I series, marks the beginning of the new term.
Nikhil Vyas, Co-Founder and CEO, of ITW Mworx, who led the partnership discussions, terms it “India’s most valuable and prestigious sports sponsorship.”
“It’s an iconic and most impactful sporting property like no other and BYJU’S have had a tremendous first term in terms of the exposure they have garnered. A global education company such as BYJU’S understands the value of associating with a national team representing a passionate fan base of 1.4 billion people globally, using it as a key resource to leverage throughout the year. I am delighted that they have decided to extend their association for another term. We feel it’s a natural fit and in BYJU’S & Indian cricket we see a lot of synergies and a common passion for the sport,” he said.
“This was a unique and ground-breaking deal when it was announced and the extension only vindicates our original assessment that a learning app and cricket actually have a lot in common both in terms of philosophy and in terms of a strategic marketing opportunity,” said Bhairav Shanth the co-founder of ITW Universe.
ITW Universe earlier stitched together the global partnership between BYJU’S and the International Cricket Council (ICC), which will run till the end of 2023.
