“Money is tight and there has been no rate hike on properties like Wimbledon or Euro Cup this year,” rues a senior media hand on the eve of Euro 2024 and Wimbledon 2024 men’s singles final. “We had two big tournaments back to back — IPL and T20WC. Plus there was the big-ticket Lok Sabha elections. Till the Budget is announced there will be a lull,” she said.
Net net, the score is like this: Wimbledon rates for the entire tournament on television is approximately Rs 75,000 per 10 seconds. For Euro 2024 spot buy is around Rs 60,000 per 10 seconds, pointed out media buyers. These numbers are more or less the same as last year for Wimbledon and last season for Euro Cup (held every 4 years).
The list of advertisers on Wimbledon broadcaster Disney+ Hotstar looks impressive though. It includes brands such as Hyundai, House of Glenfiddich, Jaquar, Castrol, Kohler, Zepto, Amul, Xiaomi, LIC, Natural Diamond Council and Disney Adventure Cruise Line. “This diverse group of sponsors reflects the growing enthusiasm for tennis and emphasises the importance of delivering varied content in today’s sports landscape,” said Ajit Varghese, head of network, advertising sales, Disney Star.
That tennis viewership has shot up in India is undeniable. “The year-on-year viewing figures in India increased, by 96%-plus in 2023 compared with 2022, and entries into this year’s Wimbledon Public Ballot from fans in India rose by more than 74% compared to last year,” said the All-England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club in a prepared note. (The Wimbledon Public Ballot tends to open the year prior to the tournament taking place. Successful public ballot entrants are offered tickets for a single day of the championships.)
Star Sports Network has worked hard to pull viewers with initiatives such as championship broadcast with Hindi commentary for the first time. This is supported by localised social media content and an array of influencers to generate excitement among fans.
For its part, Sony Sports Network, the official broadcaster of Euro 2024 in India, has also gone all out — it is offering the Euro 2024 coverage in English, Hindi, Malayalam, Telugu, Tamil and Bengali. It has put together an interesting group of expert panellists for the live studio show Football Extraaa, which includes former France captain Patrice Evra, former India captains Sunil Chhetri and Bhaichung Bhutia, current India captain and goalkeeper Gurpreet Singh Sandhu, among others.
Interestingly, while cricket remains the undisputed king of sports, football viewership has also grown in recent years. As per media consulting firm Ormax, if cricket has 90% of the country’s sports audience, football has a 45% share. But the poor showing of Euro Cup in the advertising stakes is not entirely unexpected, said analysts. Many advertisers have already dipped into their H2 kitty to spend during the LS elections — deemed the costliest ever with total ad spending touching Rs 1.35 trillion — this year, said marketers.
