The second half of the year 2021 has been cricket-heavy for both the audience and the advertisers. While the audience still continues to watch the ongoing India vs New Zealand series which will conclude on December 7, the oldest and biggest rivalry in the history of cricket- The Ashes 2021, is set to go live i.e. from December 8. The official broadcaster Sony Pictures Sports Network (SPSN) gearing up for the upcoming cricket series.
Experts believe that the series will likely face some challenges as it's coming after the Indian Premier League (IPL), ICC T20 World Cup and India vs New Zealand series, which has already attracted big bucks of ad dollars but the series will definitely have some buyers targeting premium audience. Amid these challenges, the network has already roped in six advertisers on board for the high-octane series like Byju’s, Policy Bazaar, Siggnature Elaichi, Bosch Appliances, Dafa News, Layer’r Shot and many more coming on-board.
“An Ashes series is truly revered by the cricket fans in India and as such has become an extremely important part of the advertiser’s media plans. Like every edition, even this year we have seen tremendous advertiser interest across categories like edtech, e-commerce, consumer durables and others,” said, Sandeep Mehrotra, Head - Ad Sales, Network Channels, SPNI. He noted, “We have already surpassed the revenue we generated in the last Ashes and are hopeful that this is another blockbuster series for our advertisers.”
For the first time in India, The Ashes will be telecast in four languages - Sony Six (English), Sony TEN 3 (Hindi) and Sony TEN 4 (Tamil & Telugu) from December 8, 2021.
According to the media planners, among non- India series, Ashes is considered to be the most attractive property which makes the test series interesting for some advertisers. “There are events of cricket throughout the year but some series always interests hard-core cricket viewers particularly among youth and Ashes is one of those series. Historically the series has done well and it has always been the point of interest among viewers. Also, Ten Sports as a network has always marketed the series well to reach out to millions of viewers throughout the tournament,” said Arshad Nizam, Director, Alliance Advertising Marketing.
He further added that a lot of the test match series that happened in the past has garnered good viewership for instance India tour of England. “Ashes has historically done better other than non- India playing series because of the hype and interest around it. There have always been advertisers interest to ride on Ashes for high affinity and the quality of cricket. Investment in Ashes from a series of brands always delivers far better than any other non- India series.”
Nizam also asserted that the series attracts most of the youth brands that want to be associated with Ashes along with cricket brands. “However, for brands that need high beta viewership or high launch for their campaign may opt for something else", he added.
According to B Sridhar, Group Director, Innocean World Wide Communications, at this point in time, the cricket series that are happening have a lukewarm response given the fact that T20 World Cup just got over. “While Ashes is the best in terms of test cricket but from an Indian advertisers’ perspective, most of them would consider this more like a value add to a larger level investment with the network. The advertisers who want to reach out to a very niche audience might consider this on a standalone basis only if there are bursts of activities are happening coinciding with it, Sridhar added.
Sridhar also informed that the value of an investment will be commensurate to whatever viewership comes on the table basis past analysis. “In terms of money, this is not a quantitive equation this is more driven by associating with sports at an overall level and with international events rather from a point of view of CPRP or other quantitative metrics of ROI", he said.
The series which will commence December 8, 2021, in Brisbane, will witness yet another iconic clash between arch-rivals England and Australia. Currently, Australia is leading with 33 wins in the series while England has 32 wins so far. The 72nd Ashes tour will determine if England can level the scores down under or will Australia continue to dominate the record, heating up the rivalry even more.
While Joe Root led English side is brimming with confidence after the return of Ben Stokes and power-packed performances of James Anderson and Ollie Robinson against India this year, Australia’s squad consists of iconic players who have been the face of Ashes for years now. The Pat Cummins-led Australian side will be backed by the expertise of Vice-captain Steve Smith along with a strong bowling line-up which will surely come in handy for the hosts to maintain their lead in the series and retain the urn.