It seems the recent spurt in cricket has compelled advertisers to device newer methods of monetisation. One such idea, which has caught the fancy is live streaming of cricket online, also known as webcast. Nimbus Communications that own Neo Sports and Neo Cricket Sports is already using this technology extensively. It showcased the India-Australia series on its portal Cricketnirvana.com and currently showing the ongoing India-Sri Lanka test series. Earlier Ten Sports used webcast and launched Tenports.com to showcase Compaq Cup?the triangular series between India, New Zealand and Sri Lanka. For sports channels webcast has also become a new stream of revenue. The channels are being assisted by Vdopia, which is an online and mobile video monetisation company. On one hand it is providing the technology that enables live streaming of the match and on the other it has an in house sales team that is selling this space to advertisers. It has already inked deals with brands including Yahoo!, Volkswagen, Ginger Hotels, Airtel, Tata Sky and Hero Honda.
Saurabh Bhatia, chief business officer, Vdopia, said, ?We provide the technology to the channels free of cost and in return seek the advertising rights. However, we share a percentage of our advertising revenue with the channels.? For example, Ten Sports used Vdopia?s ad sales platform as it was the exclusive third party partner to sell online advertising and perform ad sales operations.
In this case Vdopia was paid on a revenue share basis. They sold advertising against the content on Tensports.com as well as on all syndication partner sites.
When a channel receives the clean feed of the match it decides on the ad break timings and places the ads accordingly. Therefore while commercial break time remains the same for the telecast and webcast?the ads, which are aired are completely different. And that?s because the media owners are selling this space separately through Vdopia.
In terms of ad formats, Vdopia sells targeted advertising with popular and standard formats including pre-roll, mid-roll and post-roll video ads, display, video player skinning, and sponsorships. In terms of the ad rates the online version seems more pocket friendly. Advertisers buy airtime on television channels on per spot basis, which is calculated on per-10 second basis and on cost per rating point (CPRP). In case of cricket, television ad rates vary anywhere between Rs 1.5 lakh and Rs 2.5 lakh. It is even higher for premium propeties like the ICC World Cup or the BCCI led Indian Premier League. For the online version advertisers can buy in two ways. One is the usual per spot basis, which is sold at an average of Rs 2,500. Advertisers can also buy per view basis. The rate varies anywhere between Rs 500-2000 for per 1,000 views.
?Advertisers prefer to buy on the ?per view? basis as the return on investment is far higher?, said Bhatia.
The primary reason why more and more advertisers are willing to test webcast is because of its measurability factor. Bhatia discloses that average viewership of webcast for the India matches is 5 lakh. The final match of Compaq Cup played between India and Sri Lanka received a whopping one million viewership on Tensports.com. While most of the viewers tuned in from top metros, Bhatia says, ?In the last 3 months we have seen an increased viewership from tier-II cities and a substantial growth in female audiences.?
Nikhil Rangnekar, executive director, India West, Starcom Worldwide, says?It?s a natural and logical revenue stream. The webcast would be watched by professionals in office with no access to TV. They will be working along with watching the match. During the breaks they would go back to their work somewhat like channel surfing on TV. The extent of this surfing might be very high on the webcast and hence returns would be lower due to ad avoidance.?
While sports channels are gung-ho about this new revenue stream, currently online advertising is contributing a mere 1-2% of its total advertising revenue. It is expected to reach a double digit in the next three to five years. Sports channels are also investing heavily in promoting this new window. For the India-Australia series on Neo Sports, the on-going India-Sri Lanka test series on Neo Cricket and the Compaq Cup on Ten Sports, channels created 10-second ads, promoting webcast on Cricketnirvana.com and Tensports.com.