IPL final on strong wicket as advertisers bet on record viewership

Advertisers have always leveraged the popularity of cricket. The 2020 edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL) is no different. Conversations with multiple media buyers and planners indicate that there is no last-minute ad inventory left to be sold for the final match on Tuesday, marking a shift from a time-tested strategy followed by most broadcasters of high-impact sporting properties.

Typically, around 5-7 per cent of ad inventory is left for the final four matches of the IPL every year for last-minute advertisers wishing to mark their territory. 

The final match, in particular, attracts a significant premium (as much as 20-25 per cent) from last-minute buyers in anticipation of high viewership.

But this year, Star Sports, part of the Disney-Star group, which is broadcasting the tournament on television, has pre-sold the inventory, as demand for advertising has remained high from the very start.

"The IPL this year has happened during the festival season, resulting in significant advertiser interest," says Vikram Sakhuja, partner and group chief executive officer, Madison Media & OOH.

It was for the first time in the history of the tournament that the IPL was shifted to the second half of the calendar year after its scheduled Spring season could not take off due to the Covid-19 pandemic and the nationwide lockdowns.

Despite title sponsor Vivo walking out of the tournament in August and logistical challenges of organising the IPL in Dubai, Star Sports remained resolute, hiking ad rates by around 25-30 per cent this year over last year to around Rs 12-13 lakh per 10 seconds, said media buyers.

The broadcaster managed to get a record 110 advertisers on board for the 2020 edition, said industry sources, as the festival advertising timing and the presence of a high-impact sporting property coalesced.

Star Sports locked 13 sponsors this year, including five co-presenting sponsors and 13 associate sponsors, which is also a record in terms of the number of IPL TV sponsorships.

Companies which stepped in as co-presenting sponsors included IPL title sponsor Dream11, PhonePe, Amazon, Vodafone Idea, and Byju's. The associate sponsors included names such as Mondelez, ITC 

Foods, Polycab India, Diageo plc, Procter & Gamble, Coca-Cola, Hero MotoCorp, KP Group, Facebook, Dailyhunt, Samsung, CRED, and the Association of Mutual Funds in India.

Media buyers say that the IPL has received interest from both traditional advertisers as well as those in the digital space wanting to make themselves visible on a property that attracts high viewership.

The data from the Broadcast Audience Research Council India (BARC India) shows that the 2020 edition of the IPL saw 7-billion viewing minutes for the first 41 matches aired on 21 channels. This is 28 per cent higher than last year's edition for the same number of matches. The cumulative reach for 41 matches this year was 108 million versus 98 million registered last year. Reach gives an idea of the number of viewers per match.

The final match will be played between Mumbai Indians and Delhi Capitals in Dubai on Tuesday, which is expected to shatter viewership records, much like the opening match did on September 19.

At that time, Jay Shah, secretary of the Board of Control for Cricket in India, which owns and runs the IPL, said that a record 200-million viewers had tuned in to watch the first match played between Mumbai Indians and Chennai Super Kings. The latter had beaten the defending champions by five wickets.

While it is anybody's guess who will walk away with the trophy on Tuesday, both advertisers and Star Sports are at the winning post.