India-Australia series starts today, Sony gets 11 sponsors on board
The network has signed 15 sponsors for SonyLiv, and is expected to earn Rs 150-200 crore from the series.
Sony Pictures Network India is all set for one of the most exciting series of the cricketing world-- India-Australia faceoff. The tournament is starting on November 21 and the network has already signed 11 sponsors for television and 15 for its digital platform SonyLiv.
Phone pe, MRF, PERNOD, Byju’s, Swiggy, Philips Lighting, Amazon Prime Video, Kent, Allied Blenders, Relaxo and Veedol are the sponsors for TV. Quickr, Tropicana, Nescafe, Marico, Xiaomi, Indeed and Netflix are among the digital sponsors.
Talking about the television plans for the series, Rajesh Kaul, Chief Revenue Officer- Distribution & Head - Sports, Sony Pictures Networks India, said, “Cricket is more than just a sport. It is an emotional experience for Indians. Being the one-stop destination for international bilateral series, with rights of eight cricket boards, we are always looking for ways to elevate this experience. The superb line-up of panellists and commentators will give our viewers a holistic perspective on the matches. Along with that, our second screen initiative, Extraaa Innings, will ensure that fans have a more immersive experience during the series.”
On the digital front, Uday Sodhi, EVP-Digital Business Sony Pictures Network, said, “We have signed 15 sponsors so far and are expecting more to come along as the series moves forward. Given that now we are the second largest app, according to AppAnnie, in the ecosystem post FIFA and India-England series, advertisers have great affinity for our app. Numbers have been very strong.”
According to sources in the industry, the ad rates for a 10-second slot for the TV telecast are in the range of Rs 7-8 lakh for T20, Rs 1-2 lakh for Test and Rs 5-6 lakhs for One Day. The ‘associate sponsorship’ cost is said to be Rs 10 crore for Test, ODI and T20 put together. The sources estimate that Sony could be earning Rs 150-200 crore from this series from both TV and digital.
On the market environment, a senior media planner said, “The response has been soft owing to the fact that the festive season has just got over. The timing (1.20 pm start time) may play spoilsport too.”
Another media planner too put forth the same argument. “It not very exciting for the advertisers mainly because it's coming right after the festivals and big advertisers such as telecom or auto players went for heavy advertising during festivals. I am not really sure if they are keen to come to cricket now. Also the time of telecast of the match is not a prime time from India’s perspective. But if they have managed to get 11 sponsors, then they have done a good job,” explained the planner.
The series, with three T20s, four Tests and three ODIs, is highly looked forward by fans across the globe as the clashes between the two leading teams have always been intense. According to the channel, Extraaa Innings will come to this series with a new look and set design, featuring panellists such as Sunil Gavaskar, Michael Clarke, Harbhajan Singh. The matches will be telecast with English and Hindi commentaries on Sony TEN 3 from November 21, 2018 to January 18, 2019. The T20 series kick-starts on November 21, 2018 and will be telecast from 1.20 pm onwards.
(With inputs from Madhuwanti Saha)
