The Board of Control for Cricket in India has signed a title sponsorship agreement with non-banking financial company Muthoot FinCorp for all international matches it organizes through March 2028. The deal is valued at up to Rs 150 crore, but the per-match detail is where the story lies.
The per-match math
Muthoot FinCorp’s payout works out to up to Rs 4.3 crore per match across 35 matches, according to people familiar with the deal. That is below the Rs 4.85 crore per match BCCI had sought and only modestly higher than the Rs 4.2 crore paid by previous title sponsor IDFC First in the cycle that ended in August.
The deal was struck directly after the board’s tender process, first floated on July 20 and extended to September 7, did not produce a partner at the desired price. As one source put it, BCCI went direct because it could not find a partner through the tender.
Why it matters
Title sponsorship remains cricket’s anchor asset, and the market is not collapsing. Sports sponsorship spending in India reached Rs 7,942 crore in 2025, up 7% year on year, according to WPP Media’s Sporting Nation report, with cricket’s share rising to 89% from 85%.
Yet a sports marketing official described the Muthoot FinCorp deal as “a reality check for the BCCI as it failed to meet its ambition.” The clearing price, not the reserve price, is now the benchmark for the next cycle.
Associate deals show a stronger tier
Associate partnerships followed a different trajectory. Campa, SBI Life and ChatGPT signed on with a combined value of more than Rs 130 crore, a 44% jump over the previous cycle. Campa emerged as the highest bidder at Rs 1.31 crore per match, while ChatGPT and SBI Life bid Rs 1.2 crore each.
The board also raised the reserve price for associate slots to Rs 95 lakh per match from Rs 82 lakh.
What marketers should watch
- Benchmark title and associate rates separately while negotiating; title rates grew only slightly, associate rates jumped 44%.
- Track category exits; fintech and fantasy sports have pulled back, changing who is willing to pay.
- Use direct deals as a signal: when a tender misses reserve price, the property may be open to value buying.
For brand teams, the takeaway is to anchor offers on the last paid per-match rate unless the seller can demonstrate new audience or inventory value. The BCCI result shows even the most premium property has pricing flexibility when demand thins.
Source: ETBrandEquity.com
