MUMBAI: Star India, the official broadcaster of the Indian Premier League (IPL) and the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup 2019, is planning to offer sponsorship deals and ad slots to advertisers combining the two cricketing competitions and possibly India’s home series later in the year against South Africa, Bangladesh and West Indies, Economic Times reports.
The idea behind the strategy is to offset a potentially dull year for Star when it comes to earning advertising revenues from the IPL 2019 as the tournament is all set to be shift outside India owing to the general elections.
Last year, the broadcaster earned Rs. 18 billion from the same. Earlier reports had mentioned that it had planned to up ad revenues by 15% this year. However, this seems highly unlikely.
In the IPL, Star has offered an advertising inventory worth 150,000 seconds per channel. With Hotstar coming into the frame alongside regional channels for showcasing the event, the number comes up to 1.5 million seconds.
Industry sources claim that for every 10 second advertisement, the broadcaster charges anywhere between Rs. 800,000-850,000. Despite Star going for a ‘bulk deal’ across top competitions, it is estimated that the broadcaster is set to lose out, offering just 120 seconds of ad slots in the range of Rs. 800-950 million vis a vis the regular IPL rate of 150 seconds time costing Rs. 1-1.2 billion.
“Even as there is a demand for IPL, there isn’t any scope for significant increase in ad rates. Also a lot of things have to be factored in, such as where the tourney will be played and at what stage. So final ad rates will depend on many factors,” Dentsu Aegis Group South Asia CEO and chairman Ashish Bhasin was quoted as saying to ET.
“Historically IPL has witnessed a 12%-15% fall in viewership, both the times when the tourney was played outside the country. This has remained true even in case of other cricket leagues that India has played outside. Also a broadcaster is able to ask for higher ad rates whenever a tourney is played at home,” Zenith India COO Jai Lala added.
“Marketers are considering these events as an opportunity to increase reach. While most advertisers would like to buy ad inventory across these events, some will be selective. Overall, all these large events will help in increasing ad spend,” Vizeum CEO Himanka Das, stated.
