Even as on-ground sponsorships for cars, drivers and teams are in place, ESPN Star Sports, the TV rights-holder of the Airtel Indian Grand Prix, has been unable to get premium rates for on-air advertising, signalling that advertisers continue to skip non-cricket sporting events on TV.

Noida?s Buddh International Circuit will host India?s first Formula One race on October 28-30.

?ESS has sold 10 second ad spots at R1-1.5 lakh each, nearly one-fourth the price commanded by SET Max, broadcaster of the Indian Premier League (IPL),? said Anil Sathiraju, media head at advertising agency Mudra Max South. The channel is expected to garner only R5-6 crore in advertising revenue from the 3-day event, people familiar with media buying agencies said. They also said that UB Group, Vodafone Essar, Samsung India, Sony India and Perfetti Van Melle, associate sponsors for the event, have bought 90-300 seconds of airtime on the channel per day.

?Non-cricket properties never command very high ad rates because viewership is much lower,? said Mudra Max South?s Sathiraju. According to data provided by television audience measurement agency TAM, average F1 viewership in India is at 1-2 TVRs (television ratings), while that of cricket is more than 5, and even higher for high-profile events like IPL and the World Cup.

?There is an overall softness in advertising at the moment, with most companies slashing their ad budgets,? said Jehil Thakkar, executive director at audit and consulting firm KPMG India. ?The cold response to the Indian F1 could be a factor of that.?

However, ad revenues from cricket properties are significantly higher, irrespective of viewership. The India-West Indies cricket Test series, which won average ratings of 1.7, yielded R30-40 crore for broadcaster Ten Sports. IPL 4, which ended in May this year, is estimated to have yielded R800-1,000 crore in broadcasting revenues, despite a drop in its viewership.

Though ESS declined to comment on specific ad rates or revenue expectations from the Indian Grand Prix, a spokesperson said: ?The response from advertisers has been good. We?ve been sold out at the start of the F1 season.?

However, media buying agencies expect 10-15% of unsold inventory on the channel.

Senior media buyer Manish Porwal said: ?Cellular and handset companies, electronic goods makers and consumer brands targeting the higher income mass segment have shown interest in the event, but mass brands which advertise heavily on cricket have chosen to stay away.?

?Some last-minute retail buying from brands which operate in the ?speed? and ?youth? segment is likely to be seen,? Porwal added.

Some media buyers say comparison of F1 with cricket is unfair. ?Ad rates are still being negotiated,? says R Gowthanan, leader at media buying agency Mindshare South Asia. ?Non-cricket properties are attracting enough advertisers.? However, it is unfair to match its revenues with that obtained from cricket, he added.

Meanwhile, people familiar with the FI event indicate that title sponsor Airtel has paid approximately Rs 39 crore for a three-year deal, almost 30% less than for a cricket match. ?F1 enjoys a cult following of 500-million plus fans across the globe,? says Sanjay Kapoor, Bharti Airtel?s chief executive for India and South Asia. ?We?re delighted to bring this international sports event to India for the first time.? Airtel had recently withdrawn its title sponsorship deal with Champions League T20 citing poor viewership.

?This being the first year, most mass brands are in the wait-and-watch mode,? says KPMG?s Thakkar. ?It is only niche brands targeting metro markets that are advertising in the championship. However, F1 will get traction as the years go by and it won?t remain just a rich man?s game,? he added.