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Tag: Indian Premier League

  • TV9 signs deal with Kolkata Knight Riders for IPL

    TV9 signs deal with Kolkata Knight Riders for IPL

    NEW DELHI- Last week, Hindi news channel TV9 Bharatvarsh signed up as the principal sponsor of the Rajasthan Royals for IPL 2020.

    Now, the channel has signed a deal with two-time IPL winner Kolkata Knight Riders as an official sponsor for the forthcoming edition of the league that will be held in UAE from 19 September to 10 November 2020. 

    On Twitter, KKR CEO Venky Mysore: “KnightRiders Welcomes @TV9Bharatvarsh as our partner for both @KKRiders & @TKRiders. Their significant reach across various markets in India in five different languages will help us stay connected with our fans.”

    TV9 network CEO Barun Das said: “The meteoric rise of our national Hindi news channel TV9 Bharatvarsh to the No. 2 position shows that the news viewers not just expect but reward innovation in their daily news experience and we are happy to sign with Kolkata Knight Riders and Rajasthan Royals to further enhance the experience for our viewers.”

    The television news network also has a deal with Trinbago Knight Riders, a Caribbean Premier League team also owned by Kolkata Knight Riders owners.  

  • Rajasthan Royals signs TV9 Network as principal sponsor

    Rajasthan Royals signs TV9 Network as principal sponsor

    NEW DELHI: Rajasthan Royals has signed TV9 Bharatvarsh as the principal partner for the upcoming edition of the Indian Premier League, scheduled to be held in UAE from 19 September to 10 November 2020. The Royals will proudly wear TV9’s logo on the front of the team’s jersey in the IPL.

    TV9 Bharatvarsh replaces EXPO 2020 Dubai as Rajasthan Royals’ front of jersey brand after the much-awaited mega-event was postponed to 2021 owing to the Covid2019 pandemic. 

    Expressing his pleasure at adding another strong brand to the Royals partner family, Rajasthan Royals’ COO Jake Lush McCrum, said: “ We’re happy to have TV9 on board with us at Rajasthan Royals this season. It’s one of the most well-renowned networks across India and presents a fantastic opportunity for us to express the story and the culture of Rajasthan Royals to a wider audience.”

    “Cricket is not just a sport in India. It’s a religion. That’s why the TV9 Network, India’s largest news network, has partnered with Rajasthan Royals for the upcoming Indian Premier League (IPL),” said TV9 Network CEO, Barun Das.

    “The association with Rajasthan Royals will enable us to offer our viewers exclusive, behind-the-scenes, 360-degree coverage of all the IPL action both on and off the field. Along with TV9Bharatvarsh, other four regional news channels in the network—all of the market leaders–will also, deliver this unique experience to their viewers," added Das.

  • IPL and festive season to boost marketing sentiments: Experts

    IPL and festive season to boost marketing sentiments: Experts

    NEW DELHI: The Covid2019 has not only crushed the global economy, but it has badly impacted the live sporting events across the world. Every sporting event was canceled or postponed due to the virus, including the Olympic 2020. While some of the games resumed in Europe and the US, there has been a major upheaval in the sporting calendar.

    India's mecca of sports, Indian Premier League (IPL) is all set to take-off from 19 September in UAE, and cricket fans are eagerly waiting for this sporting event.

    Indiantelevision.com organized a virtual round table to discuss more on the current state and future of Live Sports in India. The round table witnessed several industry veterans sharing their opinions and insights on the subject. These veterans included – Mindshare South Asia, COO Amin Lakhani; Dentsu Aegis Network CEO APAC & Chairman Ashish Bhasin; Byju’s head of marketing Atit Mehta; Future Group’s group CMO (Marketing, digital, and e-commerce) Pawan Sarda; IPG Mediabrands CEO- India Shashi Sinha; Group M India business head (Entertainment, Sports & Live Events) Vinit Karnik. The discussion was moderated by IndianTelevision.com Group Founder, CEO & Editor-in-Chief Anil Wanvari.

    Hence, the question being asked is: will the IPL’s overlap with the festive season lead to a drop in viewership for the GECs and advertising dollars being sucked out from them towards the league?

    DAN CEO APAC & chairman Ashish Bhasin exclaimed, “It will depend on how much marketers are willing to shell out, and the next three months will disclose how marketers are going to make their next move. Covid2019 has taught us to be more adaptable. Decision-making has become more agile.”

    Talking about anti-china sentiments, he said, “I don't think there will be any impact on Chinese brands. I see it as a temporary blip, and it won't impact IPL significantly.”

    Experts hope that this festive season will bring back the cheer among consumers to buy, which will eventually help the brands. “IPL will be a great stimulator to the festive season,” shares IPG Mediabrand CEO – India Shashi Sinha.

    Group M India business head Vinit Karnik describes the upcoming months as very crucial. “From now, India will see three big festivals ­- Ganpati, Durga Puja, and Diwali. However, the fourth festival, in this pandemic, will be IPL. My optimism comes from the conversations we have had in the past 2-3 weeks, which have been very encouraging. People are willing to spend on this little festival, and that’s an opportunity for us.”

    Therefore, the question being asked is: Can we see marketers investing in spot buying instead of buying packages deals during this IPL?

    Mindshare South Asia COO Amin Lakhani affirms, “As we move forward, people are taking calculative decisions. The window is open till November end, and a lot of brands depending on their strategy will take a call, and these packages will make a bulk of consumption from the IPL perspective. There are a few clients who are evaluating their positions and want to be a part of it, but it depends on how the business shapes up.”

    He believes that IPL is a wonderful opportunity, and brands are willing to be a part of it. They are making initial strategies on how they want to participate.

    On brand sponsorship, Karnik says that this will have a huge impact on teams as most of the team sponsors rally with IPL for two reasons- brand saliency and activation. “With IPL going abroad, the activation point gets moot, and for team sponsorships, the numbers will be 12-25 per cent downward for team sponsorships point of view.”

    It has been widely reported that for this edition of IPL, Star India has set a target of Rs 3,000 crore in advertising.

    According to Sinha, “If the broadcaster reaches closer to last year's ad sales number, it will be a good sign. While the overall industry is still not doing well in terms of performance, but categories work in terms of sponsorship. It will not be as bad as people think.”

    Bhasin states that even the last two generations haven’t faced anything like this, so it is unfair to expect that this year is going to be the same as the last one. The context is where we are as compared to three years ago.

    He further says, "In this pandemic, digital consumption has reached its highest level. Digital companies have benefitted, and many of them are funded companies. They are in a much better position than many others."

    However, he believes that the only exception is live sports because you need a bigger screen. “The skew of ad spends is towards digital, but it is not at the cost of TV. Digital segment will just open up more opportunities.”

    It will be interesting to see how the next three months pan and will advertisers open up their purses.

  • What IPL comeback means to the entire industry?

    What IPL comeback means to the entire industry?

    NEW DELHI-. As numerous tournaments around the globe are making their comeback, the Indian Premier League (IPL) is going to bring smiles to cricket fans’ faces from 19 September. The game will be held in UAE this year and is one of the most sought after tournaments in recent history.

    If reports are to be believed, online gaming and sports firms are all set to spend big on television and digital platforms. With live sports back in action, the biggest question that is being asked is how the business of live sports would fare during the pandemic.

    Indiantelevision.com organized a virtual round table to discuss more about the current state and future of Live Sports in India. The round table witnessed several industry veterans sharing their opinions and insights on the subject. These veterans included – Mindshare South Asia, COO Amin Lakhani; Dentsu Aegis Network CEO APAC & Chairman Ashish Bhasin; Byju’s head of marketing Atit Mehta; Future Group’s group CMO (Marketing, digital, and e-commerce) Pawan Sarda; IPG Mediabrands CEO- India Shashi Sinha; Group M India business head (Entertainment, Sports & Live Events) Vinit Karnik. The discussion was moderated by IndianTelevision.com Group Founder, CEO & Editor-in-Chief Anil Wanvari.

    Mindshare South Asia COO Amin Lakhani mentions that since the day IPL was announced there has been a sense of positivity and it indicates that we are on the path to recovery. “There is a cautiousness in the market as the businesses have taken a huge setback in most of the segments. Many brands are looking it as an opportunity on how they can engage with IPL. The conversation with clients on IPL is three times more than what we were having with them around television ad spends in last couple of months,” shares Lakhani.

    IPG Media brands CEO- India Shashi Sinha believes that it is definitely an opportune moment for IPL to come in. “Metro cities contribute to nearly 35% of overall consumption in India. However, these cities have been most affected due to pandemic and IPL gets large traction from these regions. So, IPL is a good opportunity for brands catering to the audiences in these markets to come out from the negativity. We also feel that the sentiment is really good, and one should not compare IPL to the March – April but to what the mood was in June and July this year.”. 

    DAN CEO APAC & chairman Ashish Bhasin points out that the Indian market is more sentiment-driven as compared to any other market in the world. “If the mood is upbeat, both advertisers and consumers continue to open their purses. Last year, the economy was not doing as badly as it is doing now, but the mood was depressed. As a result, the advertising industry and many other brands were not doing well. We have already had 4-5 months of bad news, and sometimes we need an escape from it, and IPL has a potential for that. I think around the time of IPL, we will start approaching closer to normality, and once that happens, the universe will expand,” says Bhasin.

    Group M India business head Vinit Karnik opines that it’s completely unfair to compare 2020 with last year's performance. “This year has been a completely different experience for each and every sector, but still, I believe there is a reasonable amount of head-room for both GECs as well as the sports sector to survive. I think we have a decent amount of headroom to manage both,” he further adds.

    Future Group’s group CMO Pawan Sarda defines the last few months as a complete washout and believes that businesses are still struggling as they have not reached 30-40 per cent of the previous year. Says he, “It’s time to step back and observe how things will happen and then make a decision on our spendings. IPL is a platform that sets the mood for the country. A good amount of advertising is always good for healthy consumption, and since we are in retail, we tend to get the benefit from it. We are not committing anything right now.”

    During this lockdown, e-learning has performed exceptionally well. Byju’s head of marketing Atit Mehta shares, “For us, the past 4-5 months have been good in topline and bottom-line growth. We are optimistic and looking forward to the start of the festive season and every other opportunity that comes our way.”

    Says he, “As we have lost out our bid, we will now have to look at other options as far as IPL is concerned.”

    So, overall the mood is very upbeat within the brands and agencies as they keen to once again go out and reach their consumers.

  • How does Dream11 benefits from IPL sponsorship

    How does Dream11 benefits from IPL sponsorship

    NEW DELHI: Yesterday, the announcement around Fantasy sports platform Dream11 bagging the title sponsorship rights for IPL 2020 made it to news outlet across the world. The fantasy league platform won the right for Rs 222 crore and replaced the Chinese mobile phone brand, Vivo, for a four-and-a-half-month deal. For the record, Vivo this year pulled off the association due to the ongoing Indo-Sino tensions across after the border.

    Dream11 has managed to get the sponsorship title at nearly half the price to what Vivo was paying. Vivo signed the title sponsorship rights with BCCI for five years till 2021 at Rs 2,199 core. The Chinese smartphone brand was paying approximately Rs 440 crore per year to BCCI whereas Dream11 has only spent Rs 222 cr.

    According to Dream Sports (Dream11) CEO & co-founder Harsh Jain, "The launch of IPL in 2008 gave birth to the idea of Dream11. We would like to thank the BCCI for giving us an opportunity to become the Title Sponsor of IPL, which in our opinion is the world’s greatest sports property. We are happy to continue building our partnership with BCCI & IPL to further promote sports fan engagement in India, and look forward to 10 Crore+ Indians making their Dream11 for every Dream11 IPL match.”

    Founded by Jain and Bhavit Sheth, the brand became India’s first gaming unicorn in April 2019. In the last few years, Dream11 has scaled up the brand proposition in the market while creating a niche for itself. The fantasy game app in the last two years has associated with multiple sports platforms like ICC, IPL, and PKL. They have roped in former Indian cricket team captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni, the face of the brand that has helped them garner consumers' attention effectively . The brand has expanded its wings with the launch of Fancode and DreamX.

    Good Deal

    Dream11 is already a sponsor to several IPL teams and has grown in leaps and bounds in the recent past.

    Lloyd Mathias, Business Strategist, who was closely involved with cricket sponsorship as the executive VP Marketing of PepsiCo defines the deal a great opportunity to cement itself as the clear leader in fantasy and online gaming. "They now establish themselves firmly on consumers' minds ahead of MyTeam11 and My 11circle and Howzat. This is an opportunity to come in as title sponsor at a 50% discount," mentions Mathias.

    Top of the Mind Recall

    There is no doubt that Dream11 has emerged as the torchbearer of this category in India and has grown in leaps and bounds. From a base of two million users in 2016, fantasy gaming platform has over 90 million users, according to a report by accounting firm KPMG published earlier this year. They have built a strong social media community. Several reports suggest that the brand clocked revenue of Rs 700 cr in FY19.

    The association with IPL will generate a massive reach and exposure of the brand not just across India but beyond the borders also.

    Dentsu One president Harjot Singh Narang defines that the BCCI and Dream 11 coming together is the best way to synergise each other’s reach to make IPL this year really come back with a bang and use this to fulfill marketing and monetisation goals in a market with a pent-up demand. 

    He further added, "For Dream 11 particularly this is their moment to make it big and target catapulting themselves to a national pastime contender with the fantasy sports world. Dream 11 needed a moment in the spotlight for this jump and have aptly invested behind the country’s passion to power that leap just like great brands like Pepsi, CocaCola, Crick Info, etc. 

    Cricket tournaments and IPL, in particular, is the single most visible platform for any brand to gain extensive reach and frequency of exposure with their potential audience in India and Dream 11 will definitely get a solid bang for its buck".

    Dream11’s association with sports has grown over the years and it is presently partnering a total of 19 sporting leagues along with 6 Indian Premier League Franchises.

    Due to the prevailing Covid2019 situation in India, the IPL is happening this year in UAE whereas other marquee global sporting events like the Olympics and Wimbledon have been pushed to 2021. Participating brands will see a huge jump in TV viewership given the total absence of live sporting entertainment in the market over the past 6 months. 

    Mathias mentions that IPL gives huge awareness and adoption. In a span of 50 days a brand can establish itself in consumer minds across a broad demographic. He adds, “They see cricket as the shortest route to grow exponentially – and outpace their competitors.”

    Future Partner

    The one thing which is still not clear is whether or not Vivo will be making a comeback next year? However, there are speculations that BCCI will opt for a fresh bid next year. Even if Vivo doesn’t return, BCCI has decided not to go with the same amount as it is comparatively lower. 

    Since the title sponsorship, this year has been awarded at half price; will this hurt the brand value of IPL in the long run when it will choose a new sponsor next year? 

    Mathias believes that  “as far as the IPL is concerned there is virtually no loss of brand value. The biggest chunk of IPL’s revenues accrues from the STAR TV network who guarantee US $2.55 billion to the BCCI as an official broadcaster – so about US $ 500 million (Rs 3800 cr) a season. The drop in the price of the title sponsorship by half -about Rs 220 cr – is tiny in comparison.”

    It has been widely reported that the educational platform Unacademy and Bjyus were also in the sponsorship race. Unacademy had bid Rs 210 crore while Byju's had bid Rs 125 crore for the same period. Byju’s is the current jersey sponsor of the Indian cricket team. Even Tata Sons too showed interest in bagging the sponsorship rights, but the deal couldn’t take place due to the lower bidding offer. The Indian startup ecosystem is very keen on sports marketing (mainly cricket).

    Havas Media Group MD– India Mohit Joshi states that ed-tech is a sunrise sector currently and has a huge untapped potential in India. “Indian start-up ecosystem has always been associated with impact driving properties – whether it was the jackets in publications or the sponsorships of big-ticket programming in yesteryears. This year, IPL association is one of the biggest impact driving opportunities available, and hence it’s but natural that the Indian start-up ecosystem will be keen to associate with it.”

    However, there is a section of people who have not taken the news of BCCI & Dream11 association in the positive light because the latter has investments from Tencent Holdings, a Chinese investment firm.

  • Dream 11 bags IPL title sponsorship rights

    Dream 11 bags IPL title sponsorship rights

    NEW DELHI: Fantasy sports platform Dream11 has bagged the title sponsorship rights of IPL 2020 for Rs 222 crore, as per PTI reports. The fantasy league platform has replaced the Chinese mobile phone brand Vivo for a four-and-a-half-month deal.

    Dream11 has been one of the IPL sponsors for a couple of years now. "Dream11 has won the rights with a bid of Rs 222 crore," IPL Chairman Brijesh Patel told news agencies.

    However, there has been no confirmation from Dream 11, at the time of filing this story.

    Companies like Tata Sons, Unacademy, and Bjyus participated in the bidding process. According to multiple media reports, Unacademy had bid Rs 210 crore, Tata Sons had bid Rs 180 crore and Byju's had bid Rs 125 crore.

    Vivo and BCCI postponed their partnership for one year due to the prevailing Sino-India border stand-off. Under the deal with Vivo, BCCI was receiving Rs 440 crore per year. The IPL will be held from September 19 to November 10 in the UAE this year.

    On August 10, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) had sent out invitations to third parties to express their interest (EOI) in acquiring the title sponsorship rights for IPL 2020.

  • Star Sports’ Cricket Connected to celebrate Sachin’s birthday

    Star Sports’ Cricket Connected to celebrate Sachin’s birthday

    MUMBAI: The ‘God of Cricket’ Sachin Tendulkar will headline this week’s special two-part episode on Star Sports’ show Cricket Connected that airs on Saturday, 25 April. The part one of the episode will be broadcasted at 7 pm and part two at 9 pm, which will be hosted by Jatin Sapru.

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    Team India legends VVS Laxman and Harbhajan Singh along with former Australia pace machine Brett Lee have been roped in as the experts for this week’s episode. The growing popularity of the show in English and Hindi has urged Star Sports to introduce the show in its regional channels.

    Star Sports 1 Tamil, Star Sports 1 Kannada and Star Sports 1 Telugu are doing a lot to keep the channels engaging and entertaining for all cricket lovers.

    Tendulkar will give a special sneak-peak on how he’s coping with life during the lockdown. The master blaster will dole out interesting tips on how he used to practice indoors and will also help the current crop of professional cricketers with priceless advice on how to stay mentally focussed during challenging times that COVID-19 has posed before the world.

    Tendulkar, urging fans to stay indoors, said on Cricket Connected: “My fans wished well for me for many years. They encouraged me and they prayed for me. What did they pray for? That Sachin shouldn’t get out and I should be at the crease. My wish for them is that they should also not get out. They should also stay inside the crease which means indoors, safe, and healthy. If they are healthy and safe, then I am more than happy.”

    Tendulkar, who ended his glorious career in 2013, also shed light on his fabled ‘Desert Storm’ innings against Australia in 1998 at Sharjah. The cricket legend had smashed 143 against a bowling attack featuring the likes of Shane Warne, Damien Fleming and Michael Kasprowicz as temperatures reached a maximum of 41 degrees Celsius. Tendulkar also recalled some of his magic with the ball.

    This episode of Cricket Connected will also see the Greatest Of All Time (G.O.A.T.s) players from the Indian Premier League being extended to fans via polls. Winners from the five categories – batsmen, bowlers, all-rounders, captain and coach – will be declared by popular choice. The episode will also give an insight into Team India captain Virat Kohli’s life during the lockdown.

    Cricket Connected is an innovative concept by Star Sports to fill in the void left by the absence of live events. The show has proved to be that medium for fans to connect with their favourite experts. Each episode has segments that encourage fans to engage and interact with cricketing legends.

    Segments such as #AskStar give fans an opportunity to share their favourite cricket moments by tweeting their questions using the hashtag for the legends to answer. There is also another segment, Kids Connected, which involves young fans and invites them to share home-made videos of them doing commentary.

  • Sri Lanka offers to host IPL, BCCI says no

    Sri Lanka offers to host IPL, BCCI says no

    MUMBAI: The Sri Lanka Cricket Board has offered to host the thirteenth edition of Indian Premier League considering the uncertainty revolving around organising the cash-rich tournament amid the COVID-19 pandemic. However, the BCCI is not keen about it. It is of the opinion that there is no point in talking about such a proposal at this moment in a "closed world" fighting the COVID-19 pandemic. 

    The Sri Lanka cricket board, through a letter, had offered BCCI to host this year’s IPL tournament. “Apparently it will cost the BCCI and its stakeholders more than $500 million to cancel the IPL," Shammi Silva, SLC president, told Sinhala daily Lankadeepa, reports ESPNcricinfo. "So perhaps, they can minimise those losses by hosting the tournament in another country.”

    The BCCI has extended the suspension of the domestic league until further notice amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

    Sri Lanka has also been under stringent lockdown for the last four weeks, and the virus has not impacted the island country as much as it had in the western countries. There have been a total of 238 confirmed cases registered with only seven deaths due to the virus.

    The tournament was supposed to begin from 29 March to 24 April; however, the BCCI on 13 March postponed the tournament till 15 April amid the virus outbreak.

    SLC president says: “If they play it in Sri Lanka, it's easy for Indian audiences to watch the games on TV. There's precedent for this because they've played the IPL in South Africa before. We're waiting for the Indian board to respond to our proposal.”

    In the past, the tournaments have been played in foreign countries twice during general elections in India, once in 2009 in South Africa and the other in 2014 in the UAE. The organisers shifted the venue to foreign soil because the tournament is one of the most premium and expensive events in the country.

    "If the Indian board does agree to play the tournament here, we're ready to provide facilities in line with the requirements and recommendations of medical professionals. It would be a substantial source of income for Sri Lankan cricket as well," adds Silva.

    Estimates are that close to $1.5 billion is riding behind the IPL in terms of advertising, sponsorships and ticket sales. Global advisor Duff & Phelps, in March, estimated that the IPL ecosystem value will reduce by $700 to $1,000 million range (around 10-15 per cent) if IPL is cancelled.

  • Star Sports celebrates IPL’s 13th birthday with #CricketConnected

    Star Sports celebrates IPL’s 13th birthday with #CricketConnected

    MUMBAI: In a special episode this week, Cricket Connected will celebrate the Greatest of All Time (GOATs) players and coaches of the Indian Premier League to mark the thirteenth birthday of the tournament. Hosted by Jatin Sapru, the episode will air on 18 April at 7 pm on Star Sports.

    The third episode will feature an ensemble of experts – Danny Morrison, Kevin Pietersen, Gautam Gambhir, Ashish Nehra and Irfan Pathan – who will be picking their GOATs from the most decorated among batsmen, bowlers, all-rounders, coaches and captains along with a host of other prominent sports journalists of the country.

    The broadcaster has also urged fans to pick their favourite IPL moment using #CricketConnected on Twitter and may even stand a chance to have their selections up for discussion on the show.

    The experts on the show will be dishing out their thoughts on Brendon McCullum’s blockbuster of an innings of 158 not out against Royal Challengers Bangalore in what was a perfect curtain-raiser that kick-started one of the biggest sporting extravaganzas of all time. McCullum's blistering knock in the very first match of the IPL in 2008 propelled Kolkata Knight Riders to a crushing 140-run victory.

    The cricket legends will also revisit the incredible story of Team India’s first-ever Test series win over arch-rivals Pakistan in 2004 that came under the astute leadership of Sourav Ganguly.

    #CricketConnected is a non-live chat show to fill in the void left by the absence of live events. In times when the sporting world has been forced to press the pause button due to COVID-19, Cricket Connected has proved to be that medium where fans can connect with their favourite experts.

    Each episode has segments that encourage fans to engage and interact with the cricketing legends. Segments such as “#AskStar” gives fans an opportunity to share their favourite cricket moments by sending their questions using #AskStar for the legends to answer.

  • Experts predict 25-50% lesser brand spend on rescheduled IPL 2020

    Experts predict 25-50% lesser brand spend on rescheduled IPL 2020

    MUMBAI: As the suspension of the Indian Premier League (IPL) comes to an end today, the ambiguity around the cash-rich tournament has increased amid the extension of nation-wide lockdown due to the COVID-19 till 3 May. This will heavily impact the sponsors, advertisers, and Star India, the official broadcaster.

    India’s biggest cricketing event was supposed to start from 29 March, but got suspended till 15 April. As per media reports, sources within the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) say that IPL is likely to be suspended for an indefinite period with the government’s decision to continue the lockdown. BCCI, being optimistic to host the game soon, is yet to come out with an official statement on its future.

    “With the delay in IPL, the brands are likely to re-look their advertising strategy,” says DigitalKites senior vice president Amit Lall. “I don’t believe advertisers will wait till the year-end, provided IPL gets scheduled in August and October; they may park some budget for the tournament but will also re-strategise themselves for other available properties to garner eyeballs for their brand.”

    Lall adds that the majority of brands associated with the IPL allot at least 60-70 per cent of their spends on the game. But the pandemic could induce brands to halve their original spend.

    “Most of the official sponsors associated with the IPL are international brands and they function according to a calendar year from January to December, unlike Indian companies. With IPL being scheduled in the year-end, it would impact the brands to get estimated numbers,” says Lall.

    It’s expected that the sponsors may lose at least Rs 1200 crore over the uncertainty around the IPL due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The sponsorship money includes Rs 600 crore in on-ground and Rs 500 crore through team sponsorships, an Economic Times report had said.

    On a similar line, Dentsu Aegis Network India chief executive officer Anand Bhadkamkar says: “It’s more likely that brand spend would be lesser as the event is likely to be rescheduled to the year-end. Since the situation has become so grim, the overall advertising spends, eventually, have come down this year due to the COVID-19 situation.”

    The October-December quarter is also the festive season when brands make their highest spends of the year during back-to-back festivals. If IPL coincides with this period, brands can multiply their impact using the property.

    The saving grace for the IPL is that despite ad spends likely to be lower than usual, its brand value will remain intact and the interest around it won’t go away being the most premium property in the country, believes Bhadkamkar.

    He adds, “We may come out of the situation soon, but due to large gatherings it’s possible that the virus may resurface, as there is no vaccine available yet. The government may ask people to follow social distancing after the lockdown ends and this may impact the footfalls of the stand audience.”

    Echoing the same, Initiative chief executive officer Vaishali Verma points out that post June, many brands are likely to stand on their feet again. However, sectors such as FMCG and personal care are doing good even during the crisis.

    She adds, “A lot of money is involved with the domestic cricketing event and things may definitely improve after the IPL is organised." She expects that at least 20-25 per cent of revenue may be lost with the tournament taking time to be organised.

    RunAdam managing director and chief executive officer Yeragaselvan Kumarasamy believes, "IPL 2020 has to happen this year, as it’s not just only about cricket, but multiple businesses are also growing with it and given the current situation, we need something like IPL to re-boost the economy.” He believes August is a good alternative time for this year’s edition.

    The re-scheduling of IPL may impact other international cricketing events such as Asia Cup, England homes series which are slated in August. It will also impact the availability of foreign players who have other commitments in other parts of the year. “We, earlier, have organised the game without some foreign players, who were not able to play. Hence, missing out on a few players from two-three countries won’t impact the tournament much,” Kumarasamy says.

    IPL has been the talk of the town not only for advertisers, sponsors, broadcasters and organisers, but also for every cricket enthusiastic in the country. Estimates are that close to $1.5 billion is riding behind the IPL in terms of advertising, sponsorships and ticket sales.