The value of Indian telcom Airtel’s three-year naming rights deal for the Indian grand prix is $8.5 million, according to the Times of India.<\/p>\n
“The deal is … worth much less than Indian corporates pay for a slice of the cricket pie,” said the report.<\/p>\n
Earlier this month, Airtel pulled its reported $40 million title sponsorship of the Champions League Twenty20 cricket tournament.<\/p>\n
Bernie Ecclestone said on Thursday he is hopeful F1’s new Indian date can ultimately rival the country’s love of cricket.<\/p>\n
“It will take efforts to generate interest.\u00a0 We will never catch cricket, but we can get close to it, perhaps with some extra effort,” said the F1 chief executive.<\/p>\n
“India is a major part of the world and we wanted a race here.”<\/p>\n
Airtel official Sanjay Kapoor would not confirm the brand switched from cricket to F1 because it is cheaper, but Ecclestone sounded very happy with his latest sponsor.<\/p>\n
Although reports said the Airtel deal is for three years, the 80-year-old smiled when he said he has been “sloppy” in leaving the contract wide open.<\/p>\n
Ecclestone told reporters he would like the deal to continue “forever, until we stop”.<\/p>\n
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