The photographs of the empty stands in Ahmedabad’s Narendra Modi stadium on Day 1 of the ICC Cricket World Cup 2023 may have disappointed many, but advertisers are hardly sweating over that.
Media planners’ estimate that the tournament, which will see 10 teams playing 48 matches between October 5 and November 19, may rake in Rs 2,500-3,000 crore in advertising revenue. That’s more than double the Rs 1,350 crore for the 2019 edition.
“Two things will work in the tournament’s favour — one, India is hosting the World Cup on its own this time; in earlier editions, other Asian nations were also involved in hosting. Two, the tournament is coinciding with the festive season, so the mood overall — among advertisers and consumers — is upbeat,” says Karan Taurani, SVP, Elara Capital.
At upwards of Rs 1,000 crore, Elara expects digital revenue to be 80% higher than last time and TV 20% higher, albeit on a bigger base.
Disney Star, the official broadcaster of World Cup 2023 for both TV and digital, is streaming the marquee tournament for free on mobile devices via the Disney+ Hotstar app. Disney+ has introduced features like live feed and AI-based video clarity for a better streaming experience.
It has onboarded 26 sponsors already, including PhonePe, M&M, Dream11, Hindustan Unilever, Coca-Cola, Havells, IndusInd Bank, Pernod India, Booking.com and Mondelez. Ajit Varghese, head of network ad sales at Disney Star, says, “The ICC World Cup 2023 promises to be an unparalleled cricketing spectacle from the point of view of viewer interest and advertiser participation.”
Spot rates on TV have shot through the roof with those for the India and Pakistan matches being sold for as high as Rs 30 lakh per 10 seconds. Jehil Thakkar, partner, Deloitte, says, “A 10 second spot can cost anywhere between `15-30 lakh, a 40% increase compared to 2019.”
He says cricket and the festival season is a good confluence for brands and marketers. Companies in sectors like FMCG, liquor and automobile are among key spenders in during the festive season, leveraging over 50% of their annual ad spends. “We are seeing lot of traditional companies in FMCG, auto, liquor, which had been replaced by startups and edtech firms, coming back to the scene as the latter cut back on discretionary spending,” Thakkar says.
On digital, CPM (or cost per mille, ‘mille’ meaning a thousand) is around 200-250 for India matches and100 for non-India matches. So far, say observers, the network would have sold around 70% or more of its inventory. Typically it will hold on to some of the inventory for the later stages of the tournament, and the spot rates will go up depending on how far India progresses.
For the World Cup, consumer and advertiser response has expectedly been much better than the Asia Cup. Amol Dighe, CEO, investment and new business at Madison Media, adds. “For many categories, this is a make or break season. We also have an extended festive period since Diwali will be later this year. Further, the macro numbers are looking postive as we saw in last quarter’s GDP growth,” says Dighe.
The overall tournament viewership, TV and streaming platforms combined, will be “far higher” than the 552 million registered in 2019.
Happy days are here again
The cricket frenzy will likely give online food aggregators such as Zomato/Swiggy a lot to smile about. “QSR/food tech companies may see a positive bottom line impact of 6-8% from more orders coming in during the tournament (six weeks). Bars/pubs will see better occupancy, which will positively impact alcobev volume growth in Q3FY24,” Karan Taurani of Elara said.
Agrees Amar Sinha, CEO, Radico Khaitan: “While pubs and bars are preparing for the usual surge in customers during the World Cup, a notable trend is emerging — more people are choosing to host house parties and consume premium products or create their own cocktails while enjoying the games.”
The company said it is launching a social media campaign, Predict & Win, on the 8 PM Premium Black Whisky social media pages. This contest allows fans to predict match outcomes and offers a chance to win attractive prizes.
Hotel rack rates too have gone up by 150%, say analysts tracking the sector. But it is not just food and beverages brands that are leveraging the frenzy. Apparel manufacturers The Kaftan Company has unveiled an ICC World Cup Kaftan range and dresses for women. Navin Rao, co-founder of TKC, says, “Cricket is in the air this season. We needed to create a collection reflecting the spirit the sport thrives on.”
For its part, Uber has launched a social media contest urging cricket fans to post their pictures holding a placard with details on how they plan to support Team India. Uber will select the winning entries on October 8. The winners get to stay in a Uber Camper close to the venue of the India-Pakistan match slated for October 14.