Cricket on the advertiser's mind

Still the best game in town, but the way brands engage with the sport is changing

With STAR Sports’ Rs 16, 347.50-crore bid for the Indian Premier League, attention is back on an issue that never really loses its thrill: cricket’s abiding commercial pull for advertisers. No matter what the product, or who the target audience, ad rates for cricket have demonstrated gravity-defying abilities, encouraging broadcasters to bet big and charge high. Is this justified?

That is not the right question to ask say, experts. It is not whether cricket can still be the cash cache for television, but are brands and broadcasters ready for the way the sponsorships game has changed? 

“A medium like a cricket is