IPL 2020 : VIVO 'wanted to quit IPL 2020', BCCI 'wants them to stay’

This news about the Indian Premier League (IPL 2020) will surprise everyone.

InsideSport has reliably learnt from its sources that, amid negative sentiment about the Chinese products, VIVO the title sponsor of the IPL 2020 actually wanted to end the relationship with IPL. But on the insistence of BCCI they have decided to fulfill the contractual obligation.

InsideSport has learnt from its sources, that the officials from the Chinese company had raised concerns with the BCCI over negative sentiment surrounding the Chinese brands association with IPL 2020. The concerns were also raised by VIVO officials in regard to the continuous delay in the finalization of the event dates after it got postponed indefinitely in the month of March-April.

But the Indian board citing contractual obligations asked VIVO to continue as sponsor of the event.

“VIVO was and still it is really concerned about the negative sentiment surrounding the Chinese brands. They also deliberated terminating the contract with BCCI on account of continuous delay at their end about any clarity on the season. But finally the BCCI persuaded and they have decided to back the IPL 2020. With so much of negativity surrounding the association, if today given the option VIVO would immediately end the sponsorship deal”, said one of the source close to the brand team.

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Another reason for VIVO not to end the association with BCCI was the fear of encasement of bank-guarantee by the BCCI. As per the contractual norms, BCCI takes floating bank guarantee for each commercial contract signed by the board. If VIVO would have pulled out from the 13th edition of IPL, BCCI could have en-cashed the bank guarantee provided by the brand. That fear also contributed in VIVO continuing the association with IPL.

VIVO has already stopped using brand ambassador Aamir Khan and Sara Ali Khan in the commercials

As an aftermath to the anti-China sentiment in the country, VIVO already has stopped using the brand ambassadors Aamir Khan and Sara Ali Khan in its advertising campaigns. According to a report by ET, the brand will not advertise using any Bollywood brand ambassador even during the IPL 2020. This follows demands that Indian stars stop endorsing Chinese brands.

“VIVO will advertise new phone launches in the coming months, but none of the new phones will be promoted by actors Aamir or Sara despite their star power,” said an industry executive aware of the development.

According to the report, Aamir Khan, who featured prominently on VIVO Twitter handle, is no longer visible there or on the mobile phone maker’s home page. The Dangal star has 26.3 million followers on Twitter and 3.4 million followers on Instagram. He’s known to charge about ?4 crore per day for brand shoots, which translates into an annual endorsement fee of ?12-15 crore. He was signed up by VIVO in early 2018.

As per the information available with InsideSport, VIVO is yet to sign any ON-AIR advertising deal for IPL 2020 with Star India. Till the time of filing this report, VIVO still stays indecisive on signing the ON-AIR deal with STAR.

IPL 2020 : Meanwhile, BCCI under fire for continuing with VIVO as IPL 2020 Sponsor

After the Indian Premier League (IPL) Governing Council decided on Sunday that it would continue with sponsors linked to China including VIVO, the board has come under heavy scrutiny from political leaders, organisations, and traders’ unions alike.

The BCCI had earlier said that it would reconsider the sponsorships in the wake of border tensions with China, which led to the death of 20 Indian soldiers in a clash in Eastern Ladakh on June 15.

However, after the announcement of the decision, National Conference (NC) leader Omar Abdullah was among the first who took to Twitter on Sunday night and voiced his displeasure about the move.

“Chinese cellphone makers will continue as title sponsors of the IPL while people are told to boycott Chinese products. It’s no wonder China is thumbing its nose at us when we are so confused about how to handle Chinese money/investment/sponsorship/advertising,” he wrote on Twitter.

According to a report in The Print, the Confederation of All India Traders (CAIT) went a step further and has written to Union Home Minister Amit Shah and External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar, urging them to withhold permission for the September event.

“The decision of the BCCI smacks of its lust for money in utter disregard of safety of the people and that too involving Chinese companies,” Praveen Khandelwal, the CAIT national general secretary, wrote in the letter.

The letter has requested Shah and Jaishankar to “take immediate cognisance of the issue and not give any permission to BCCI for holding IPL in India or in Dubai or anywhere else”.

“Under the unlock advisories, holding any event is still banned. But adopting an escape route by BCCI to hold IPL in Dubai is nothing but to dodge the government,” it added.

BCCI’s call was also slammed by the Swadeshi Jagran Manch, an RSS affiliate, on Monday, as its national co-convener Ashwani Mahajan said people should consider boycotting the cash-rich T20 league.

“The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) and the Indian Premier League (IPL) Governing Council have shown utter disrespect to the Indian soldiers killed by Chinese troops with its decision to hold the cricket league with its Chinese sponsors,” Mahajan said in a statement, according to PTI.

“At a time when the country is striving hard to make our economy free from Chinese dominance in the markets, the government is making all efforts to keep China out of our markets, this act of the IPL Governing Council is an aberration to the nation’s mood.”

Apart from VIVO as its title sponsor, IPL’s Chinese links include Paytm and investments from Alibaba, as umpire partner. They also include Dream 11, as online fantasy league partner, and Swiggy, as an associate sponsor — both of which have links to Chinese company Tencent.

The BCCI will issue the Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) with regards to bio-security measures, squad strength, replacement players, travel for families, etc. after receiving government clearance. Tentatively, the board has a plan to meet with the franchises on August 4.

Cricket