The recently concluded ODI series between India and West Indies yielded R30 crore-R40 crore in advertising revenue for Ten Cricket, the official broadcaster of the event. According to industry sources, this number is significantly lower than ad revenues usually generated from India’s five-match ODI tournaments in South Africa, Australia or England, which go up to as much as R70-crore-75 crore.
Absence of big stars in the Indian team and unsuitable timing of matches resulted in a decline in viewership, that put off many big advertisers, says a top media buyer.
According to TAM Sports data, the average series ratings on Ten Cricket stood at 1.71 TRPs (television rating points), while that combined with Doordarshan was close to 3. However, the channel asserts that matches happening in the Caribbean always yield modest ad revenues, that ?should not be compared? to high-profile events such as an India-Australia series or an IPL tournament.
Atul Pandey, CEO of Ten Sports, says, ?Expectations from the series was always on the lower side and the revenue we collected has exceeded our expectations.? Tata Docomo, Idea Cellular and ibibo.com were the most prominent advertisers during the series he added. Indian FMCG companies that have invested in IPL 4 and the World Cup have shown lukewarm interest in the India-West Indies series.