As cricket fans gear up for the opening fixture of the IPL’s 17th season between Chennai Super Kings and Royal Challengers Bangalore slated for this evening, broadcasters Disney Star and JioCinema anticipate a substantial surge in ad revenues this year. As per observers, between TV and digital, ad revenues for the two broadcasters are likely to touch the Rs 5,000-crore mark.
Last year, the ad revenue during the IPL was estimated to have crossed Rs 4,000 crore, of which Rs 2,500 crore was TV’s share. This year, TV ad revenues are expected to grow 15-20% while digital revenues are set to grow at over 25% largely on the back of subscription growth. JioCinema, which is streaming the tournament free once again this year, is confident of surpassing last season’s viewership of 450 million to reach 650 million. Disney Star reached 505 million in viewership last season, and industry pundits expect that number to increase 10%. Since the commencement of its IPL build-up programming, Star Sports announced that it has seen a 24% increase in viewership compared to last year, reaching 245 million viewers as of March 21.
The reasons for high viewer and advertiser interest can be attributed to factors both on and off the field, as Meghna Muthappa, national sales head at ITW.io explains. “The robust advertiser interest this season is thanks in part to factors such as 2024 being MS Dhoni’s last season and Hardik Pandya’s move to Mumbai Indians as captain. Beyond the action on the field, IPL has a proven track record of helping brands achieve high ROI,” says Muthappa. The sports consulting company has facilitated 28 deals across the 10 IPL teams for this season with brands such as Arun Ice-cream, HDFC PayZapp, ITC, Coca-Cola and Ubon.
JioCinema has announced its roster of 18 sponsors this season, and over 250 advertisers.
While Dream11 is the co-presenting sponsor, some of the other sponsors are Cred, SBI, Pepsi, Google Pixel and Parle Products. Disney Star too has reportedly finalised 15 sponsors, among whom are Dream11, Asian Paints, Charged by Thums Up, Dettol, Amul and Vimal. The broadcaster is in the process of signing up more, as per sources.
While the value of the deals with sponsors remains unknown, reports state that Disney Star sought Rs 70 crore for co-presenting sponsorship and Rs 35 crore for associate sponsorships on its HD channels. On SD channels, the price for co-presenting and associate sponsorships were Rs 167 crore and Rs 83 crore respectively. TV ad rates are said to be between Rs 16 and 18 lakh per 10 seconds and connected TV spots are a little over Rs 6 lakh per 10 seconds. On digital, the CPM (cost per mille or cost per thousand: it is the price an advertiser pays for one thousand views or impressions of an advertisement) is between Rs 100 and Rs 250.
And that begs the question: Is the IPL becoming a prohibitively expensive platform for advertisers despite its massive viewership and scale?
Round the wicket
Most experts appear less hard-line in their assessment.
For one, Nikhil Kumar, chief growth officer, mediasmart, argues that IPL has given a boost to the total advertising pie. “Brands are strategically diversifying their investments to reach the right audience through FAST (free ad-supported streaming) channels and OTTs, apps, and more. When it comes to IPL, it’s about reaching the right audience,” says Kumar.
Advertisers can look to target cricket fans beyond digital streaming and TV. Kumar adds, “Cricket is enjoyed at public places like bars and restaurants where fans come together to view live matches and celebrate. There’s an inclination to consume more fantasy gaming apps as the tournament progresses. Brands can capitalise on reaching these users through time-based advertising combined with location data and DMP (data management platform) segments.”
JioCinema, credited by experts for changing the way IPL advertising is done on digital, has not altered its rates dramatically this season, encouraging brands to spend more. With an increase in multiple streaming feeds and languages (12 languages), advertiser interest on JioCinema especially is expected to increase. Industry estimates project that 59% brands and agencies expect a rise in their CTV ad spends over the next couple of years and IPL is a potential catalyst.
Disney Star has launched a new tool that allows TV ads to integrate with the viewer’s secondary device such as a smartphone. This will deliver engagement opportunities for brands with consumer offers, giveaways and more.
Although advertiser sentiment this season is much better than last year’s, Karan Taurani, senior VP at Elara Capital adds a word of caution: Considering this is an election year, the Board of Control for Cricket in India has thus far announced dates for only the first 21 games of the season. The rest of the matches will be scheduled in a way as to not interfere with the polling schedule. If the gap between the first and second phase of the tournament is longer than two weeks, Taurani says, IPL ad spending will likely take a hit.