Champions League T20 Broadcaster’s Title Sponsor Airtel Cuts Ties

Even as the Indian fans vent their anger at the BCCI for the poor showing by the Indian team on their tour of England, the Indian board may have some more thinking to do. Their international club cricket baby, the Champions League T20 was hit by the withdrawal of the broadcaster’s principal sponsor, Airtel.

While the withdrawal does not directly affect the BCCI, it must be said that the signs aren’t right for the Champions League T20 ever since it began in 2009. First supposed to start off in 2008, the tournament was postponed by a year after the 2008 Mumbai terror attacks.

In 2009, the Champions League T20 was held in India, but the response to the tournament was lukewarm. The matches which did not involve the Indian teams saw no crowds in the stadiums and the TV ratings fell drastically as well.

Measures were taken to add more context in the tournament for the second edition in 2010, when the number of teams were reduced to 10. This did help the stadium audiences while there was a marginal improvement in the TV ratings as well. However, the average TV rating was still much lower than what had been expected and it was this clause that allowed Airtel to snap ties with the broadcaster, ESPN-Star.

In the first year, the average rating was 1.06, which rose to 1.45 in the second year. As compared to this, IPL had a rating of 5.5 in 2010.

The deal was a five-year agreement for a supposed sum of $40 million.

ESPN-Star will now look to hunt for a new sponsor, even as the BCCI looks to find out ways to keep the Indian audiences interested in the tournament. This year, seven teams have been given a direct entry into the Champions League T20, including three Indian teams, while a fourth Indian side will fight with five others to grab the remaining three spots in the tournament.

The Champions League T20 begins from September 23 this year.