The BCCI Apex Council will decide on its association with jersey sponsor Byju's besides deliberating on Star's "media rights payment" in its emergent meeting on Monday. The meeting will be held virtually. Byju's wants to terminate its agreement with the BCCI but in the meeting held last month, the board had asked the edtech major to continue at least until March 2023.
End of the Road for Byjus?
The company had recently announced plans to lay off not more than five per cent of its total strength of 50000. In June last year, Byju's had extended its jersey sponsorship agreement with the BCCI until November 2023 for an estimated USD 35 million. The brand had replaced Oppo back in 2019.
Byju's was also one of the sponsors of the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar. 'Star media rights payment' There is only one item on the meeting agenda and that reads "discussion on Byju's and STAR media rights payment". It is to be noted that Star is the current holder of the media rights for Indian cricket's home season. The rights will come up for renewal after March. Last year, the BCCI had sold the IPL media rights for the 2023-2027 cycle for a whopping Rs 48390 crore.
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New Sponsor on cards?
If the reports are true and BCCI agrees to terminate the deal from immediate effect, there could be a new sponsor for the Indian cricket team in the upcoming series against New Zealand, while the Sri Lanka series will have Byjus as the sponsor anyways. According to the market value, the Indian team’s current sponsorship is set to attract a big sum of money with the brand value being the highest for any Cricket playing nation.
The BCCI will look for a new sponsor in case the reports are true and could seek applications in the coming days. The new sponsor will have major financial gain as India will wear its brand during the ODI World Cup later this year in their own backyard.
