Byju's all set to replace OPPO on Team India's jersey
The logo of OPPO, which took a lot of space in jerseys of Indian Cricket team, will now be replaced by educational app Byju's. In March 2017, the Chinese phone company had spent Rs. 1,079 crore for jersey rights. The deal was supposed to last for five years, but now OPPO feels it's too expensive and has decided to pass the baton to Byju's.
The recent development will not affect BCCI's earnings
However, the replacement will not affect BCCI, reports TOI. The board will receive the same amount of money from Byju's and will not incur any loss till the deal ends, i.e., March 31, 2022. "OPPO will pay Byju's a minor amount to help make the full payment while Byju's will pay BCCI. The board will continue to get what is due to it."
OPPO will remain on jerseys till West Indies tour
The report added Team India will flaunt OPPO's logo on their jerseys during the West Indies tour, which starts from August 3 and ends on September 3. Once the South Africa tour begins, on September 15, Byju's will replace OPPO.
OPPO paid Rs. 4.61 crore for every bilateral match
As per the deal, OPPO was paying BCCI Rs. 4.6 crore per bilateral match and Rs. 1.56 crore for an ICC or Asia Cup match. This was way higher than what Star India, which held jersey rights till 2017, paid. Reportedly, Star India was paying Rs. 1.92 crore for every bilateral match and Rs. 61 lakh for an ICC match.
A bit about Byju's and its rise
Coming to Byju's, it was founded by Kerala-based Byju Raveendran in 2011. It is an educational platform which creates personalized programs for students depending on their capabilities. Students can use Byju's to prepare for competitive exams like IIT-JEE, NEET, CAT, IAS, and GMAT. Since its inception, it has been growing at 100% annually. Notably, it's the first Asian investment of Chan Zuckerberg Initiative.
Earlier this year, Byju's raised Rs. 214 crore in funding
In March this year, Byju's raised Rs. 214 crore from existing investors - New York-headquartered equity firm General Atlantic, and Chinese conglomerate Tencent. With this round of funding, Byju's was valued at over $5 billion. Reportedly, Byju's has raised nearly $795.5 million in nine rounds of funding. Some of its most notable investors are Sequoia Capital, Sofina, Naspers, Chan Zuckerberg Initiative, and Aarin Capital.
Apparently, Byju's had been waiting for such an opportunity
"They (Byju's) have been looking for branding exercises of this volume and it's (Team India jersey rights) just the kind of space they wanted to get into. At the moment they fit absolutely well here," sources told TOI.
