Rs 12,00,00,00,000: The amount of sponsorship money that hangs in balance for IPL amidst Coronavirus outbreak

The fate of close to ₹1,200 crore in sponsorship money hangs in uncertainty as the IPL looks to be shifted at a later date in the 2020 calendar.

While the world and the governing body has debated the safety and the well being of the cricketers and spectators, an Economic Times report on Wednesday, 18 March has shed light on the sponsorship money that the companies have already put in the market.

The report suggests that the advertisers are looking to renegotiate the deals in case the IPL gets suspended for a prolonged period, or is played in empty stadiums as foreseen by several in the BCCI. the sum includes over ₹600 crore of on ground and ₹500 crore in team sponsorships.

The report quoted Shashi Sinha, chief executive, IPG MediaBrands, the media buying agency that represents Coca Cola and Amazon.

"While it is too early to gauge the exact impact, if the matches are played without audiences, the team and ground sponsors while visible for the television audience, may lose some impact because of the lack of engagement with the in stadium audience."

Large brands that have heavily invested in the IPL such as Vivo, Amazon and PhonePe have indicated that they could pull off in the circumstances of only television broadcast in IPL 2020, ET quoted an advertising official.

"...many team sponsors are indicating that they will either pull off or asking the teams to rework the sponsorship deals. Brand visibility in stadiums, events like meet-and-greet between fas and cricketers, ground level food and beverages partnerships, all of this will be impacted."