₹70 lakh for 10 seconds: India-Pak clash sends ad rates over the ropes

Days after Pakistan backtracked on its earlier decision to boycott the marquee showdown with India at the ongoing ICC Men’s T20 World Cup, the commercial upswing following that clarity is already visible. With the arch-rivals set to meet this Sunday in Colombo, spot advertising rates have risen sharply, reaffirming the unmatched economic pull of cricket’s most charged contest.

 

Broadcasters are now quoting close to ₹70 lakh for a 10-second slot, a steep jump from the peak rate of roughly ₹40 lakh recorded for the same fixture during the 2024 edition. This reflects the enduring magnetism of an India-Pakistan clash, a spectacle that reliably fuses sporting drama with vast audience appetite.

 

For perspective, peak 10-second spot rates during the Indian Premier League have typically hovered around ₹20 lakh. At the far end of the global advertising spectrum, the Super Bowl commands heftier quotations, with comparable airtime priced between ₹2.2 crore and ₹2.8 crore.

 

Yet within the cricketing universe, few properties rival the pricing power of India versus Pakistan. According to media buyers, this single fixture routinely draws the tournament’s highest viewership and advertising intensity.

 

Had the match not gone ahead, JioStar, which holds the 2026 T20 World Cup’s media rights, would have faced a significant hit to revenue. Industry estimates suggest the network might have risked losing close to 20 per cent of the projected ₹2,000 crore advertising revenues expected from this year’s World Cup. During the 2024 tournament, experts estimate Disney Star generated roughly ₹1,200 crore in ad revenues.

 

Despite the spike in demand, the pool of available advertising inventory remains limited. “Most inventory in cricket is sold as a package. Barely 20-30 per cent might have been held back by the channel for spot sales especially for the India-Pakistan match. While this allows brands to enter at a premium, the available inventory is relatively small,” said Sandeep Goyal, managing director at Rediffusion.

 

Viewership data underscores the scale of advertiser interest. In 2024, the India-Pakistan encounter generated 256 million viewing hours across platforms in India alone. On digital, peak concurrent viewership touched an estimated 53 million across OTT and streaming services.

 

With this year’s clash now firmly on the calendar, broadcasters expect comparable, if not higher, engagement levels, particularly given the heightened attention in the current geopolitical context.

 

Final advertising revenues, however, will also depend on how the teams progress. While the final is scheduled in Ahmedabad, any semi-final or final involving Pakistan would be held in Colombo. A second India-Pakistan encounter later in the tournament would likely push spot rates higher and further strengthen advertising revenue projections.