An estimated Rs.

800 crore in ad revenue is riding on the back of this sports property, which
had a television rating point (TRP) of 3.8 in the previous season, its sixth. At its peak, IPL
had a TRP of 5.5 in 2008 when the tournament started. Photo: HT
New Delhi/Mumbai: The Indian Premier League (IPL) has managed to get a host of
sponsors and advertisers including Amazon.com Inc. to back the telecast of its T20 matches,
despite the tournament moving abroad for the first leg and the spot-fixing controversy
surrounding it.
The popular cricket tournament, which begins on 16 April, will be broadcast on SIX and SET
Max channels operated byMulti Screen Media Pvt. Ltd.
An estimated Rs.800 crore in ad revenue is riding on the back of this sports property, which
had a television rating point (TRP) of 3.8 in the previous season, its sixth. At its peak, IPL
had a TRP of 5.5 in 2008 when the tournament started.
IPL is in its seventh season, it has reached a mature stage. Brands which have been with us
for the last six seasons are coming back, said Rohit Gupta, president (network sales) at Multi
Screen Media. Besides that, there is added interest from two-three new categories of
advertisers, which is encouraging.
The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has shifted the first 20 matches to Dubai,
Sharjah and Abu Dhabi in the United Arab Emirates. The tournament will then return to India
on 2 May for 36 matches plus the four playoffs, BCCI said in a statement on Thursday.
Online retailer Amazon will launch its first television commercial in India during IPL,
spending Rs.30 crore as an on-air associate sponsor.
Amazon.in is working across platforms for the IPL season. As our target customers around
the country will be watching IPL, we hope to entice and delight them with our trusted online
shopping experience, a company spokesperson said.
Mobile operator Vodafone India, which has run successful campaigns with its Zoozoo
characters in previous editions, is a co-presenting sponsor for IPL 2014.
The way we see it, the (viewer) interest in the game and in IPL continues to be high and we
do not expect any dilution on account of the tournament moving out of India. Especially,
considering that the match timings are coinciding with the 4pm and 8pm slots in India,
saidRonita Mitra, senior vice-president (brand communications and insights) at Vodafone
India.

Each franchise will play nine matches in India, with five of the eight teams playing at least
four matches in their home stadiums. Chennai Super Kings will play two matches at
Ranchi, Kings XI Punjab will play two games at Cuttack andRajasthan Royals will play four
matches at Ahmedabad, BCCI said.
There will be no matches on 1 May, 16 May and 17 May to avoid clashing with the national
election thats to be held from 7 April to 12 May. Votes will be counted on 16 May.
The schedule for IPLs seventh season was thrown into disarray after the government
expressed its inability to provide adequate security for the tournament due to the election,
forcing BCCI to look for an alternative location.
The second edition of IPL was held in South Africa for similar reasons, with the last few
matches being played in India.
Gujarat-based dairy cooperative Amul confirmed it will advertise on IPL this season. While
we will advertise our entire range of products, the focus will be on our ice-cream and
beverages, said a senior official at Amul, declining to be named as he is not authorized to
speak to the media.
SIX and SET Max have got 8-10 on-air sponsorship deals worth Rs.30-60 crore each, said
Gupta of Multi Screen Media.
Ad rates for a 10-second spot on the channels are being sold for Rs.4.5-4.75 lakh.
Brands are willing to pay the premium as they believe that recent developments related to a
spot-fixing probe, including N. Srinivasans exit as BCCI president on the orders of the
Supreme Court, are not likely to dent the popularity of the tournament.
Along with the excitement around the general elections, the deck has now been cleared by
the Honble Supreme Court to stage the 7th edition of IPL. That provides advertisers like us
an opportunity to consider IPL as a platform in our paid media mix. We are evaluating all
options but we havent taken a decision yet, said a spokesperson for Coca-Cola India.
Removing a key element of the uncertainty surrounding this seasons IPL due to the probe,
the Supreme Court on 28 March decided that Chennai Super Kings, the franchise owned by
Srinivasans India Cements Ltd, and Rajasthan Royals that were at the centre of last years
spot-fixing and betting scandal in IPL will remain in the tournament.

While advertising expenditure has clocked in a healthy double-digit growth in the first
quarter, bettering our expectations, clients have been wary of investing in expensive
properties owing to the uncertainty in the market and instead, have chosen safer and more
consistent options, said C.V.L. Srinivas, chief executive officer (South Asia) at GroupM, a
media buying agency thats part of WPP Plc.
Having said that, cricket has always been considered a high-impact vehicle and some
advertisers will continue to see value in that. However, it is the fence-sitters or the last-minute
advertisers that have chosen not to jump in immediately, this time round. Now that this
uncertainty has lifted, and we know that the IPL tournament will continue on schedule, we
expect that a number of advertisers will come forward. So some of the lost ground could be
made up in the next few days, Srinivas added.
Vidhi ChoudharyGouri Shah

TOPICS: IPLBRANDSSONYAMAZONSPONSORSHIPS