Another battle for the World Cup, however, has already commenced. It's off the field and is being fought between state-owned broadcaster Doordarshan (DD) and the ESPN-STAR Sports combo for a larger piece of the World Cup advertising spending pie. Estimates of the expected ad spend around the World Cup in 1999 vary as much as from Rs 60 crore to Rs 120 crore. That's big money for an event that's going to be spread over a month.

ESPN-STAR Sports, which has got the cable and satellite TV rights for all the 43 matches (the matches will be equally divided between the two channels and the finals will be telecast on both the channels), has fired the first salvo. On Tuesday, it had a gig around the World Cup targeted at the advertising and marketing fraternityin Mumbai. Attended by almost every big name in the Indian media business, the bash had the ESPN-STAR top brass in full attendance. Star TV Asia chief executive officer (CEO) Gary Davey, ad sales director Robert Bland, ESPN-STAR Sports Asia chief Alexander `Sandy' Brown, STAR TV India chief R Basu, and sundry other STAR TV senior executives.

The STAR TV ad sales pitch was at its meanest best. "It doesn't get any bigger than this," is the theme around the World Cup. That line was oft repeated during the presentation (the sponsorship price tag is also likely to be the biggest by far). Nine hundred hours of coverage around the World Cup is what ESPN-STAR Sports has promised. It also says that the network is going to be the only one that will cover live every ball of every match.

At the do, the STAR TV team laid out the red carpet for media executives. World Cup veterans Sunil Gavaskar, Mohinder Amarnath, and Sanjay Manjrekar chatted with Harsha Bhogle about nostalgic moments of the previous World Cups. Mediaexecutives got to schmooze with the STAR TV bosses over drinks and a five-cuisine dinner, which was simply marvelous. They got themselves caricatured, photographed, and played a few games. Most of them came away contented and sighing, `this is life'.

The do was organised to reveal to the media and marketing fraternity what ESPN-STAR Sports is planning for them during the course and in the run-up to the World Cup. Sponsorships for ESPN-STAR Sports are up for grabs. The sponsorship entitlements include: identification on promos, opening and closing billboards, limitation on conflicting advertising, spots, replay bugs, man of the match, classic catches, third umpire, star profile, master blaster.. the works.

While most people don't see a scrap between ESPN-STAR Sports and DD, there's likely to be one. As it is the perception amongst media executives is that even DD has the World Cup rights though it has only the terrestrial rights and that too for only 11 matches (including the ones India figuresin).

Stratcon, spearheaded by Siddarth Ray, which is marketing World Cup air-time for DD is extremely aggressive and has been giving ESPN-STAR Sports a run for their money in the past and is going to continue to do so. Both DD and cable operators have been working on improving the picture quality in viewers' homes over the past few months. And they have succeeded to a large extent. However, it is not clear if the quality will be maintained during the World Cup as DD will not be able to telecast the matches via satellite.

ESPN has been having a run-in with cable operators; some of who have been switched off because they have refused to comply with the hike in the per-sub pay TV fee that it levies. Sure the desire to view the World Cup telecast from subscribers may pressure them to start ESPN again by settling outstanding with the network. Some of them may choose not to, informing subscribers that the cost for ESPN is too much and whether they would be willing to compensate for the extra outgo toESPN.

Not all subscribers may agree. In the process, there could be a loss of viewers for ESPN. (Topline data from the Indian Media and Market Studies - IMMS -- survey conducted by Org-Marg places the penetration of ESPN at 7.2 million homes. Star Sports is available in 11.1 million homes according to the IMMS).

Some ingenious cable operators will fish with their dishes in space and catch the World Cup telecast signal from some obscure satellite and beam it free. Cable operators will also try and use the occasion to arm-twist Modi Entertainment and ESPN to give them some price-offs if they want the tournament to be shown on their cable networks.

The distribution teams of ESPN-STAR Sports will have to work hard to get their act right with cable operators if they want to deliver the numbers that the two channels will have promised advertisers and media executives. That will not be a problem with DD as its telecast is free to air. Ray will definitely harp on this point. But he will have to ensure thatcrucial moments during the matches are not blacked out for TV commercials or news telecasts.

It will be interesting to see which way the balance will swing.

Hindustan Lever takes offence: Hindustan Lever has objected to last week's item, which talked about Tata Salt's efforts to allay fears about the salt shortage and asked if Levers' marketers really care. Levers says that yes it does care for consumers and that it had posted advertisements in The Times of India and in the Navbharat Times, Delhi editions on November 3. "The ads were issued in Delhi because that's where the crisis snowballed," Levers has clarified in a letter to this writer.

That's definitely praiseworthy. However, Tata Chemicals deserves many more pats on its back. Reason: the company released its ad in close to 18 city editions of a newspaper. Fears of an edible salt shortage may have begun in Delhi, but they raced through the various states like a bushfire. Mumbai and Ahmedabad are among two cities, which are still plagued byrumours of a salt shortage.

Hindustan Thompson set to get a new name: India's largest ad agency, Hindustan Thompson is going in for a new name. As of next month, the agency is going to be called J Walter Thompson India if sources are to be believed. This is following JWT's acquisition of a majority 60 per cent stake in HTA. JWT had divested its holding in the seventies and departed from India. It, however, returned at the beginning of this decade and has since been increasing its holding in the agency.

The writer can be reached at wanvari@giasbm01.vsnl.net.in or television@hotmail.com