The sixth season of the Indian Premier League (IPL) will be called Pepsi IPL after the soft-drink manufacturing company bagged the title sponsorship of the cash-rich T20 tournament for Rs 396.8 crore.

Now, it’s Pepsi IPL

The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has achieved its target of doubling the title sponsor rights value of its richest property – the Indian Premier League (IPL).

Soft drinks giant PepsiCo Wednesday became the new title sponsors of the cash awash IPL after it won the bid for title rights for five years by committing a whopping Rs 3.968 bn. Pepsi pipped leading telecom communications provider Bharti Airtel, which had offered Rs3.16 bn, in the bid for the title sponsorship of the world’s richest domestic cricket tournament

PepsiCo’s bid is almost double the Rs 2 bn paid by DLF for the title rights to the first five seasons of the IPL.

The BCCI marketing committee met Wednesday to open the tender for the rights to be title sponsor of the IPL for the five seasons commencing in 2013.

Two eligible bids were received and Dr Farooq Abdullah, chairman of the marketing committee, announced that the rights had been won by PepsiCo over the next five seasons.

Dr Abdullah commented, “The BCCI is very pleased to welcome PepsiCo as a central partner of the IPL.  The value of the winning bid reflects the growth and success of the IPL ”.

IPL governing council chairman Rajeev Shukla added, “PepsiCo are one of the largest sponsors in world sport and we look forward to working with them over the next seasons. I would also like to take this opportunity to thank DLF for its confidence in the IPL to become the league’s first title sponsor in 2008.”

Deepika Warrier, executive director Marketing of Pepsico Beverages, said she was very happy that the company has reaffirmed its commitment to cricket.

“We have been associated with cricket for the last 20 years. The IPL is a tremendous product. It is a brand which rivals any other sporting brand across the world,” says Warrier.

The title sponsor rights include a number of branding and other marketing benefits to be received by the title sponsor at every IPL match during the season as specifically outlined in the Invitation to Tender.

Tags: BCCI, Deepika Warrier, Indian Premier League, IPL 2013, IPL 6, Pepsi IPL, PepsiCo, Title Sponsor, Title Sponsorship