What if Team India makes an early exit
RATNA BHUSHAN
TIMES NEWS NETWORK[ MONDAY, MARCH 19, 2007 01:15:13 AM]
NEW DELHI: What if Team India makes an early exit from the World Cup? Saturday night’s shock defeat that minnows Bangladesh handed out to an insipid India at the Caribbean has got advertisers, sponsors, media buyers, the ICC, Sony Entertainment and the travel trade on tenterhooks.
India failing to qualify for the super eights would put into jeopardy about Rs 350 crore worth of television ad money, roughly $300 million worth of sponsorship money and ICC’s forthcoming global sponsorship deals, bids for which are currently at $60 million-$80 million per sponsor.
Add to this list the travel trade, which has its fortunes linked to India’s progression at the tournament. Packages to the West Indies range between Rs 2.5 lakh and Rs 4 lakh.
“India’s early exit could lead to erosion of audiences, and result in a long-term impact on future revenues of broadcasters and correction in ad rates,” said Mindshare India MD Sundar Raman.
“Close to 70% of ICC’s revenues come from the sub-continent. Advertisers have committed a huge amount of money and chances of India not qualifying for the super eights is a huge concern,” pointed out Basab Dutta Chowdhury, COO, Madison Media Plus.
If India wins the next two matches, against Bermuda and Sri Lanka, all that could well change and boil down to other complex matters such as run rates to qualify for the super eights. SET has been hoping to sell its unsold inventory at Rs 5 lakh-plus per 10 seconds for India-specific matches and the super eights. It has already sold about 95% of inventory at a steep Rs 4 lakh per 10 seconds for India-specific matches, and Rs 1.5 lakh for 10 second spots for all 51 matches put together.
While ratings for key India matches average between 5 and 7 for cable and satellite (C&S) homes, for non-India matches ratings plunge to as low as 0.5. Even the India-West Indies practice match prior to the tournament managed ratings of about 3.5.
Media experts say the significant loss of viewership will upset plans of advertisers across sectors, who have tailored their annual plans around the tournament. For soft drinks, for example, March-April marks the beginning of the key season, while consumer durables players are banking heavily on consumer promotions to push sales of CTVs.
However, SET’s executive VP Rohit Gupta dismissed the concerns of advertisers stating, “It’s too early to comment; it’s just one match that India has lost.”
Another example is that of ITC Foods, which had planned the launch of its Sunfeast Sachin’s Fit Kit and snack foods to coincide with the World Cup. The number of advertisers, at about 70, is up from 45 last World Cup, with close to Rs 350 crore worth of ad revenues committed from sales of TV spots.
A recent Group M Mindshare Insights survey states that last year, the estimated ad spend on TV was Rs 5,750 crore with cricket accounting for Rs 650 crore.
AuthorTopic: India's early exit.. commercial disaster (Read 292 times)
