Online payment platform FreeCharge announced that it will be on-ground partner for the Indian Premier League (IPL) for the next two years. FreeCharge's chief operating office Govind Rajan said that the company will be spending over Rs 100 crore in the sponsorship, alliances and promotions during the cricket tournament. As the official partner, FreeCharge’s branding will be prominently visible on all major indoor and outdoor platforms of IPL during all the seasons. This isn't the first time a digital service has gotten sponsorship with a cricketing event. Earlier this year, Paytm purchased the rights for title sponsorship from the BCCI for all home series to be played in India till 2019. According to the deal, Paytm would pay Rs 2.42 crore per international match hosted in the country, of which 84 matches are already scheduled. This comes to around Rs 203.28 crore, without counting any matches that might be scheduled in the future. Previously, smartphone maker Micromax held the rights for a year, after STAR group and Sahara held the rights in the preceding years. Other developments at FreeCharge - In October, FreeCharge launched a beta Android app called Juice which tracks talktime and data balance and supports operators like Airtel, Vodafone, Idea, BSNL, Reliance GSM and Aircel. - Freecharge launched the digital wallet in partnership with the private sector lender YES Bank. It claimed to have crossed 5 million mobile wallet users in 4 weeks of its launch. The company said that on an average, users transacted over 5 times a month, while an average of 50% users…
