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Costlier ads to keep broadcaster’s IPL revenue stable

Advertising revenues is expected to come in at last year’s levels of around Rs 900 crore.

Multi Screen Media, the official broadcaster of the seventh edition of IPL, expects advertising revenues to come in at last year?s levels of around Rs 900 crore. MSM believes it can make as much as it did last year even without higher volumes since advertising rates have been revised upwards.

?Last year, we charged R4.25 lakh for a 10-second slot and this time, the rate is Rs 4.9-5 lakh. That?s a 20% jump,? Rohit Gupta, president of Sony Entertainment Television, India, told FE.

Gupta pointed out that the higher ad rate would compensate for the lower number of matches. ?There?s a 20% drop in the number of games played this year from 74 to 60,? Gupta observed.

MSM channels saw a 40% jump in advertising revenues in 2013 for the sixth edition of the IPL of around Rs 900 crore.

Gupta added that the proposed change of venue ? to South Africa for all matches ? would not impact ad revenues. ??It would not affect advertisers? spends as all matches would be beamed at 8 pm. However, there could be a drop in spends on ground promotions,? Gupta said.

PepsiCo India is the title sponsor for the seventh edition of IPL, while MSM channels Sony Max and Sony Six are exclusive broadcasters of the Pepsi IPL 2014.

Currently, Sony is in discussions with several companies for sponsorship for the cricket tournament.

Ajit Varghese, chief executive officer of Maxus Asia-Pacific, which is a media-buying agency of Group M, said: ?After six seasons, the sports event has established its format. So advertising revenue will not take a hit and will maintain its previous year?s level.?

Nadia Chauhan, joint managing director of Parle Agro, a major advertiser, shares the same view, stating that the event is a large advertising platform for a lot of brands. ?We are a cricket-loving nation,? Chauhan added. However, the company has still not decided its advertising spend for the event.

There are sceptics as well. Adi Godrej, chairman of Godrej Consumer Products, which was an associate sponsor last year but has not taken any decision so far this year, said: ?I think

there would be some issues because some of the events may be held outside India. With different timings, there could be a drop in viewership.?

Echoing similar views, Sunil Kataria, chief operating officer (sales and marketing), GCPL, said there would be a drop in ad revenues as the tournament would clash with general elections in the country.

?With the proposed change in venue, there would be time zone issues also,? Kataria said.

According to industry sources, several companies are still weighing the pros and cons before deciding to commit advertising for IPL.

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First published on: 27-02-2014 at 03:12 IST
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