Pepsi Replaces DLF as IPL Title Sponsor

Pepsi have made an entrance to the Indian sponsorship market after bagging the rights to title sponsor the cash-rich Indian Premier League in a five-year deal.

The sixth season of the IPL will be called Pepsi IPL with the soft-drink manufacturing company paying Rs 396.8 crore ($72m).

The T20 league got the new sponsor after the country’s largest realty firm, DLF, their title sponsor for five years, decided not to renew its contract in July. The company had spent Rs 200 crore ($36.2m) in five years for IPL.

Apart from Pepsi, Aircel was the only other bidder. Aircel had offered Rs 316 crores.

IPL Chairman Rajeev Shukla said that the title-sponsorship contract was for five-year period and will end in 2017. “So far our records of selling various properties of IPL has been very good. We have doubled, tripled or quadrupled the amount while selling some of the properties,” Shukla told reporters after the meeting of the IPL Governing Council.

Deepika Warrier, Executive Director Marketing of Pepsico Beverages, said she was very happy that the company has reaffirmed its commitment to cricket.

“We have been associated with cricket for the last 20 years. The IPL is a tremendous product. It is a brand which rivals any other sporting brand across the world,” she said.

The title sponsor rights include a number of branding and other marketing benefits to be received by the title sponsor at every IPL match  during the season as specifically outlined in the Invitation to Tender.