Television broadcaster Neo Sports has bagged the exclusive telecast rights of Uefa Euro 2012, the second biggest football championship after the Fifa World Cup.
The size of the deal is estimated to be Rs 100 crore, and is one of the major acquisitions for the channel following its successful bid for the telecast rights of the French Open from 2012 to 2016, the Rugby World Cup 2011, and the just-concluded Copa America championship.
Sources indicate that Neo Sports has earmarked Rs 250 crore in the year to acquire satellite rights of marquee sporting events other than cricket. Prasanna Krishnan, COO, Neo Sports told FE, ?There is a conscious effort from the channel to develop non-cricket sports and significant investments are being made in football, tennis, golf, badminton and moto-racing.? He further said, ?Non-cricket sports can no longer be termed niche. They are witnessing increased viewer and advertiser interest.?
However, media buyers feel that non-cricket sports are not on the radar of every advertiser. Manas Mishra, EVP, Mudra Max said, ?Advertisers generally keep aside a cricket budget for the year. For non-cricket events, that doesn’t happen as the investment isn’t so huge. For a Grand Slam or a football championship, not more than Rs 2 crore is invested by a company. The sports broadcasting industry is growing at 20% but non-cricket sports amount to only 5-10% of the ad revenues.?
He also added that the likely advertisers for Uefa tournaments would be premium auto companies, sports brands like Adidas, Nike and others with a male target audience.
Meanwhile, Neo Sports will telecast Euro 2012 in countries, including India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Nepal, Bhutan and Maldives. The channel has also inked a partnership with Uefa to broadcast associated events like the Uefa European Under 21 Championship 2013 and the Uefa Women?s Euro 2013 on its platform.
Earlier this month, the channel signed a 5-year deal with the French Open. Krishnan said, ?It is a Rs 50 crore property for us. The French Open has a great following in India.? He added, ?There is no mass following of rugby but the sport is growing.?