 "Star TV")
The prospect of a two-day clash between cricketing nations India and West Indies appears to have vetted the appetite of advertisers significantly. STAR India, which has the broadcast rights of the two T20 internationals, the first of which begins on Saturday in the US, has four sponsors on board.
They include Vivo as the co-presenting sponsor and Hero, Airtel and Karbonn as associate sponsors, say media planners and buyers in direct knowledge of these developments.
The four sponsors came on board despite ad rates being higher than those charged during this year’s Indian Premier League (IPL), which concluded in May. STAR, which will telecast the tournament on two sports channels (one standard definition, the other high definition), has pegged sponsorship rates at Rs 6-6.25 lakh for a 10-second slot, while spot buys have been pegged at Rs 6.5 lakh for 10 seconds.
Sony Pictures Network, IPL’s official broadcaster, on the other hand, had pegged 10-second ad rates on standard definition this year at Rs 5.5-5.75 lakh, while ad rates on high-definition were pegged at Rs 1.5-1.75 lakh for 10 seconds. “T20 is one of the most exciting cricketing formats. Advertisers’ interest, despite the high price, is not surprising,” says R Venkatasubramanian, senior vice-president, Initiative Media, part of the IPG Mediabrands network.
Industry sources say STAR is expected to get at least 10-15 spot buyers for the two-day tournament, taking its total advertiser count to 20. While this is lower than the nearly 80 advertisers that came on board for the IPL this year, the latter was held over a two-month period between April and May.
Interestingly, Paytm, which has the title sponsorship rights for all of India's domestic and international cricket matches played at home for four years, will remain the title sponsor for the two T20s in the US. In a statement on Friday, Anurag Thakur, president, Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), said the Paytm association would further strengthen the body's existing partnership with it.
Shankar Nath, senior vice-president, Paytm, said, "We are excited to associate with the BCCI's efforts of taking cricket global. We have a long-standing commitment to cricket. I am sure these two matches will enhance the popularity of the game in India and abroad."
While the deal size was not specified by BCCI, industry estimates are that the two-day tournament would have cost Paytm about Rs 5 crore. The e-commerce major had forked out Rs 203.28 crore for the four-year domestic contract it bagged in 2015. STAR, in the interim, paid Rs 32 crore for the broadcast rights of the two-day India-West Indies tournament.
Arshad Nizam, director, Alliance Media, which manages Vivo, says the current sponsorship deal, will ensure the handset maker which is also the title sponsor of IPL, will be top-of-mind for its target audience. “The youth remains the prime target group of handset makers and this association will ensure that we keep the brand alive in their minds even as the festive season nears,” says Nizam.
Vivo had managed to improve the share on the back of its IPL sponsorship this year and is expected to push the two-day TV sponsorship on STAR Sports aggressively to ensure recall. Associate sponsors Hero, Airtel and Karbonn are also expected to do the same as categories such as consumer durables, electronics, telecom, auto, e-commerce, and banking & financial services rush to book their spots on TV for the tournament.
They include Vivo as the co-presenting sponsor and Hero, Airtel and Karbonn as associate sponsors, say media planners and buyers in direct knowledge of these developments.
The four sponsors came on board despite ad rates being higher than those charged during this year’s Indian Premier League (IPL), which concluded in May. STAR, which will telecast the tournament on two sports channels (one standard definition, the other high definition), has pegged sponsorship rates at Rs 6-6.25 lakh for a 10-second slot, while spot buys have been pegged at Rs 6.5 lakh for 10 seconds.
| T20 FEVER BACK |
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Sony Pictures Network, IPL’s official broadcaster, on the other hand, had pegged 10-second ad rates on standard definition this year at Rs 5.5-5.75 lakh, while ad rates on high-definition were pegged at Rs 1.5-1.75 lakh for 10 seconds. “T20 is one of the most exciting cricketing formats. Advertisers’ interest, despite the high price, is not surprising,” says R Venkatasubramanian, senior vice-president, Initiative Media, part of the IPG Mediabrands network.
Industry sources say STAR is expected to get at least 10-15 spot buyers for the two-day tournament, taking its total advertiser count to 20. While this is lower than the nearly 80 advertisers that came on board for the IPL this year, the latter was held over a two-month period between April and May.
Interestingly, Paytm, which has the title sponsorship rights for all of India's domestic and international cricket matches played at home for four years, will remain the title sponsor for the two T20s in the US. In a statement on Friday, Anurag Thakur, president, Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), said the Paytm association would further strengthen the body's existing partnership with it.
Shankar Nath, senior vice-president, Paytm, said, "We are excited to associate with the BCCI's efforts of taking cricket global. We have a long-standing commitment to cricket. I am sure these two matches will enhance the popularity of the game in India and abroad."
While the deal size was not specified by BCCI, industry estimates are that the two-day tournament would have cost Paytm about Rs 5 crore. The e-commerce major had forked out Rs 203.28 crore for the four-year domestic contract it bagged in 2015. STAR, in the interim, paid Rs 32 crore for the broadcast rights of the two-day India-West Indies tournament.
Arshad Nizam, director, Alliance Media, which manages Vivo, says the current sponsorship deal, will ensure the handset maker which is also the title sponsor of IPL, will be top-of-mind for its target audience. “The youth remains the prime target group of handset makers and this association will ensure that we keep the brand alive in their minds even as the festive season nears,” says Nizam.
Vivo had managed to improve the share on the back of its IPL sponsorship this year and is expected to push the two-day TV sponsorship on STAR Sports aggressively to ensure recall. Associate sponsors Hero, Airtel and Karbonn are also expected to do the same as categories such as consumer durables, electronics, telecom, auto, e-commerce, and banking & financial services rush to book their spots on TV for the tournament.
