Football leagues are the next big thing on the advertisers' list. | |
| Move over cricket, football is the next sporty flavour. And it's not only about the World Cup, but league games. |
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| While football clubs such as Manchester United, Real Madrid and Liverpool have been watched and followed by fans for over several years now, it is only recently that the so-called low-profile leagues have started catching the fancy of the fans. |
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| In turn, these seem to be attracting a bevy of broadcasters and marketers as well, who have started looking beyond the usual suspects and seek to venture into newer territories. |
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| In the football league, while the Barclays Premier League (BPL) has been there for quite sometime now, it is only now that we are seeing a massive influx of brands getting associated with the game. And it is not only the high profile leagues that are seeing money coming in. |
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| Recently, a regional news channel, Star Ananda, paid close to Rs 12 crore to get the telecast rights for Calcutta football league. |
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| Says Manish Porwal, managing director, Starcom, North and West, "While interest in football is definitely on the rise and you see a host of brands getting associated with it, most of these are actually global brands." |
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| Why, take a look at the brands that have been associated with the game so far and you'd hit upon the names of Nike, Nokia, Samsung and Malaysia Airlines (all associated with BPL) - all global companies. But things are changing now. Indian companies such as Maruti and Bharti are now joining the bandwagon. |
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| Besides BCL, there is a slew of other leagues, which the other sports channels have been vying for. For instance, Ten Sports has the French League and Scottish Premier League and Neo Sports Plus has Bundesliga and Copa Liberatadores in its bouquet. |
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| The ad rates for football might not be anywhere close to cricket, but they remain a close second in competition with probably F1. This is probably down to the fact that there is only one commercial break during a football match. |
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| In which case, the marketers are beginning to explore other avenues. For instance, Nokia is lending its name to mobile and Internet rights. |
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| TV ratings paint a promising picture as well. According to aMap ratings, last week's Premier League clashes received a TV rating as high as 0.84 in the six metros. |
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| The ratings for international tournaments like the World Cup have always generated mass appeal, and during the 2006 World Cup, the ratings had managed to beat cricket as well. |
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| Says R C Venkatiesh, managing director, ESPN Star Sports, "The following of international soccer has been on the rise not only in soccer markets like Kolkata and Kerala but also in major metros across India. A good enough reason why we are seeing brands getting associated with the game." |
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| Zee Sports' broadcast of domestic football, too, has gained a good response from advertisers. So, while cricket might still rule the roost and continue to do so for the next few years, football is clearly gaining momentum and is set to provide a different avenue to break away from the clutter. |
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