Electronics manufacturer Intex has bagged the rights to own the Rajkot franchise for the Indian Premier League (IPL) series, reports LiveMint. Another team to be introduced, the Pune team, will be owned by Kolkata-based New Rising.
Interestingly, Intex mentions that it does not expect to break even in the two years its team will participate in the IPL, instead it will look to minimize losses. The company will likely use this as a marketing tool instead, getting its brand name more widespread, while not having to spend that amount on advertising.
The two new teams were decided through ‘reverse bidding’; determining the companies that would seek minimum central revenue from the BCCI, the amount paid by the BCCI to each franchise. Both companies choose to forego payments from the BCCI. The two new teams will replace Rajasthan Royals and the Chennai Super Kings.
FreeCharge IPL promotions: Last month online payment platform FreeCharge announced that it would be the on-ground partner for the Indian Premier League (IPL) for the next two years. The company planned to spend over Rs 100 crore in sponsorship, alliances and promotions during the cricket tournament. Previously, smartphone maker Micromax held the rights for a year, after STAR group and Sahara held the rights in the preceding years.
Paytm sponsorship rights: 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.
Other developments at Intex:
– In October, Intex said it was planning a Rs 1,000 crore smartphone manufacturing facility in Greater Noida. According to the company, the facility would be spread over 20 lakh square feet area and be developed in the next three years.
– In July, Intex licensed the Sailfish OS from the Finnish corp Jolla to release Sailfish based smartphones by the end of this year. The company mentioned then that the first smartphone to launch under this initiative would be called Aqua Fish and would be available by September. However such a phone is yet to hit the market.
