Star India is all set to cash in on the biggest extravaganza of the country this year. After a poor first quarter, they are all set to hike Indian Premier League (IPL) ad rates by 20 to 25 per cent compared to the last season. According to highly placed sources, the ad rates for the 13th IPL would come for anything between Rs 12 lakh/10 seconds and Rs 12.5 lakh/10 seconds.
TV consumption has been up 15 per cent over pre Covid-19 times (source: BARC), and live sports has been sorely missed by fans. Apart from that, the fact that matches this season would start earlier at 7:30pm will increase audience availability by more than 20 per cent (source: BARC). Expected to set a new viewership record, IPL 2020 is attracting advertisers from across sectors giving the broadcaster the confidence to quote higher prices for ad slot even amidst low economic sentiments.
Even at the hiked rates brands are betting big on IPL ad inventory.
According to Shashi Sinha, CEO, IPG Mediabrands India, “After Covid this year, companies are definitely looking at recovery. Also, as IPL coincides with the festive season, the timing seems just right. Even with Vivo pulling out, we saw three bidders coming in and brands showing so much interest in the league. IPL, as we know, is a pan-India property and is sure to lift up the festive season. As the property manages to garner eyeballs from across the country, it will attract reams of advertisers.”
Sinha says some of these brands would be looking at visibility, while others advertising in IPL would make their presence felt for sheer competitive reasons.
“The IPL overall is a sign of the much-needed resurgence,” he remarks.
“Categories across the board should participate. Mainly e-commerce players, education, auto companies and even beverage companies are likely to advertise though it’s not the peak season for them,” Sinha adds.
The growing viewership in the past few years has made IPL synonymous as a family sport. The 12th edition of the league witnessed 613 million viewers (consolidated + PPL + surround).
Not just numbers, the property offers brands a wider, diverse set of audiences across languages. According to sources at Star, the broadcaster will continue to focus in regional languages in the 13th season of the league.
Experts believe besides English and Hindi audience base, Star Sports is expected to witness viewership gains in the four independent dedicated language channels in Tamil, Telugu, Bangla and Kannada as well.
“In spite of the current pandemic situation, there are two important factors which will allow the channel to charge more,” said senior media expert Anita Nayyar.
“One, the event will be during the festive season and there will be additional brands that would have earmarked their budgets for festive advertising. Two, the audience is completely a cricket starved currently. Being the first cricket event this year, IPL should garner high viewership for it to be a great opportunity for brands to leverage,” she explains.
There are a host of factors that make the league unputdownable by advertisers. For instance, IPL is expected to be the biggest gainer as major sporting events like ICC Men's T20 World Cup got pushed to next year in the wake of the pandemic.
“Factors like people continuing to work from home, demand now picking up in certain categories and the excitement around cricket and IPL are likely to fuel its growth. Furthermore, the property has no competition, and due to the above factors, is sure to get viewership soaring. Overall, it seems like it will bring back a certain level of bounce-back to the market,” shares Ajit Gurnani, chief client officer at Publicis Group-owned media agency Zenith.
Agencies are already getting busy with IPL-specific pitches as advertisers begin to prepare for the league.
“With consumer sentiment having hopefully crossed the nadir, businesses will want to trigger consumer demand and what more popular advertising property than the IPL to do so. Despite the high rates, I believe brands will see this as an investment that will deliver ROI in terms of jump-starting demand. We’ve had at least 2 IPL-specific pitches over the past few weeks, so I would say that yes, brands will bet on IPL,” says Ayesha Ghosh, EVP & Head of Office, Taproot Dentsu.
With a four-hour match, brands get to advertise not only during breaks but throughout the match at key occasions like fall of wickets or boundaries. As per sources in Star, categories like online shopping, home décor, mobile handsets, consumer durables, FMCG, Auto, apparel amongst others are the ones anticipating a surge in consumer spending and are quick to pick up ad inventory. As it turns out, many advertisers from previous editions who have seen value and return for their investments on IPL despite its premiums are looking to again leverage this opportunity.
With inputs from Misbaah Mansuri and Simran Sabherwal