Will advertisers stick to the high pitch?

The recent corporate intervention in Indian cricket has changed for good the perception of the common man towards the game. Even though businesses are trying to drive home the point that their objective is to find cricketing talent from small towns and villages, it is clear that the initiative is backed by a distinct business strategy.

After the much-hyped BCCI-led Indian Premier League (IPL) auctions, advertisers are now rushing to buy airtime slots on Set Max, which is the exclusive telecast partner of IPL.

But privatised overs-specific pyjama league cricket is new to India and the Essel Group-led Indian Cricket League (ICL), the first to make the move, has failed to prove the format?s merit in terms of televison ratings. Despite that, in 2008, both the ICL and IPL have managed to attract big brands that include Airtel, Vodafone, Reebok, Adidas, DLF, Edelweiss, Dabur Glucose and Intel. More of their ilk are coming onboard as we go to print. So what determines the returns on investments of on-air sponsors?

According to aMap, a television ratings agency, the online ratings of the first three ICL matches in the inaugural season held in November 2007 and even the combined ratings of all the 25-odd Zee channels for the first hour of the ICL tournament failed to attract significant viewership. The average time spent on the channels being just eight minutes. The first three T-20 matches played on November 30 and December 1 generated peak ratings of only 0.5 on Zee Sports despite aggressive promotions and appearances by film personalities. The maximum combined ratings for the first 30 minutes of the third match between Mumbai Champs and Hyderabad Heroes was 1.0. But this was because of the match being available across all the 28 Zee network channels. The stand-alone rating on Zee Sports for this match was 0.2.

The second season of the ICL has begun and the ratings of the first three matches have failed to impress. Unlike the last ICL season, this year Zee roped in Ten Sports as additional telecast partners for an undisclosed amount. According to aMap, the combined rating of Zee Sports and Ten Sports (in percentages) amongst C&S 4+ of the first three matches held on March 9, 10 and 11 and played between Ahmedabad Rockets and Chandigarh Lions, Delhi Giants and Mumbai Champs, and Chennai Superstars and Lahore Badshahs, was 3.62, 3.21 and 3.91, respectively.

The combined peak rating of the first match was 0.9, of which Zee Sports garnered 0.2 and Ten Sports 0.7. The combined peak rating of the second match was 0.5. Of this, Zee Sports contributed 0.2 and Ten Sports 0.4. In the third match, the combined peak rating was 0.7, of which Zee Sports acquired 0.2 and Ten Sports 0.4. In terms of GRPs, too, all the three matches failed to draw inspiring figures. The GRP of the first three matches on Zee Sports was 1.16, 1.04 and 1.40, while on Ten Sports it was 2.47, 2.1 and 2.5.

So, in a situation like this, what inspires on-air sponsors to stick to league cricket and not a soap opera?

Ashish Kaul, executive vice-president, Essel Group, says, ?In a tournament that spans across 34 matches, on-air sponsors build a significant reach and audiences spend a considerable time. These past few days have been a fair start for us, considering the last tournament where we started at 0.2 and the finals delivering 0.8. This time, our current ratings are equal to a non-India ODI and it?s highly encouraging. With ground sponsors like Edelweiss, JVC, Bharatstudent, Dabur Glucose and on-air sponsors like Airtel and Intel, it only shows that the property has taken off extremely well and is on its way up. We are in the process of signing more associates and team sponsors.?

He adds ?We have just started off, and the response is getting better and encouraging. With global broadcast partners, Ten Sports delivering us the required reach, lock-in on-ground sponsors, team sponsors, on-air sponsors and audiences increasing up after each match, our clients are only going to benefit as the tournament progresses.?

The question is: with competitor IPL around and low TV ratings, are sponsors likely to walk out on the ICL?

Says Pratap Bose, CEO, Ogilvy & Mather, ?As far as the ICL is concerned, it is a new format in India and there are two kinds of advertisers riding it. Some look at it as a long-term investment and, therefore, even if the tournament fails to deliver the numbers?those sponsors will stick to it. That?s because once the property is established, it will start fetching everybody returns. Secondly, those riding ICL with short-term objectives will most likely pull out if it fails on TV ratings. Also, with the IPL just a month away, it will be interesting to see what kind of television rating it harvests.?

But analysts also say it?s going to be tough for the ICL if the IPL is successful in generating television ratings. Since the tournament involves so many established Indian cricket stars and Bollywood actors, one can bet on the fact that all the brands that these celebrities endorse will get associated with the IPL in some way or the other. Of the Indian cricket team, those with maximum number of endorsements are: Sachin Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid, Sourav Ganguly, Mahendra Singh Dhoni, Yuvraj Singh, Sreesanth, Virendra Sehwag and now Ishaant Sharma. Brands ranging from Pepsi, Parachute, Canon and Puma to Adidas, VISA, LG, Videocon, Samsung, Orient and Britannia have these cricketers as brand endorsers.

Franchise owners like Shah Rukh Khan, Juhi Chawla and Preity Zinta are most likely to attract brands including, Hyundai Santro, Compaq, Kukure and VSNL. Besides, owing to franchisees Mukesh Ambani and Vijay Mallya?two corporate goliaths?Reliance Industries and UB Group will be backing the IPL.

R Gowthaman, managing director, MindShare, South Asia, which is a media buying agency, says, ?For on-air sponsors, TRPs definitely matter and it is the only way to evaluate the product. However, as far as the IPL is concerned, we have certain benchmarks for the sponsors. Once the tournament begins, any rating between 3 and 4 should be good. A 4 will be very good. As the tournament moves towards the finals, TRPs 7-8 can?t be ruled out. However, for cricket, advertisers do not depend on just TRPs. Most advertisers also consider whether a tournament is giving them the incremental reach or not.?

The battle for control of the 22 yards has begun in the earnest, both on and off the pitch.