Byju's mulls exiting BCCI jerseys sponsorship deal: Report

In a bid to rationalise its media expenditure, Byju’s is looking to exit its BCCI sponsorship deal, according to a report in The Economic Times.

"Byju's wants to walk out of the sponsorship deal with BCCI since it is optimising its media spends in India," a source told the publication.

The edtech company has reportedly informed the BCCI as well about its decision to opt out of the sponsorship after March 2023. Owing to the global economic downturn, Byju’s and other such edtech startups have been cutting down on their advertising expenditures.

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In FY21, the cost of advertising and promotions of the company spiked 150 per cent to Rs 2,251 crore from Rs 899 crore, while the revenue was up only 4 per cent to Rs 2,280 crore. Overall, the edtech firm had registered a loss Rs 4,588 crore in FY21, a 17-fold jump when compared to the previous year's figures.

Along with the BCCI jersey deal, Byju’s is an official sponsor of the International Cricket Council as well as the FIFA World Cup 2022. In its quest to grow globally, the FIFA deal cost the firm $30-$40 million.

Bearing an expenditure of $55 million, Byju’s extended its deal with BCCI in June until the end of 2023. The original agreement had expired in March 2022. In its fresh deal with the Board of Control for Cricket in India, Byju’s is paying roughly 10 per cent more than what its predecessor Oppo was paying.