Ad inventory for sports such as football, kabaddi and futsal is going at a premium as they attract eyeballs in both metros and smaller towns.

Sponsors, on their part, are diversifying their portfolio as the measurements of rural television watching comes into play. Also, they need not put all their eggs in one sport.

Industry watchers indicate that sports like kabaddi and football, which till recently had few takers, are now finding players willing to pay ₹1.75-2.25 lakh for a ten-second ad spot as both leagues and international properties establish themselves firmly in the country.

For instance, football’s Indian Super League has expanded the season from 12 to 17 weeks and matches to 95 from 65. Kabaddi, too, has gone to two-season-a-year format, buoyed by viewer interest.

Both ISL and the Pro Kabaddi League reportedly mopped up over ₹130 crore in sponsorship deals alone.

While this may be a fraction of what IPL earned — ₹1,300 crore — in 2017, industry players note that newer sporting formats are eating into cricket’s sponsorship pie.

Rajesh Kaul, President, Sports and Distribution Business, Sony Pictures Networks India which owns several sports properties both domestic and international, notes: “Other sports are now finding traction with advertisers as the rural viewership is being measured. Brands have started to show interest in sports like football and wrestling because of their growing viewership.”

Asked how much a 10-second ad spots sells for various sports, Kaul says, “pricing is a function of how deals are packaged, but ad spots usually range from ₹50,000 to ₹3 lakh. The 2014 FIFA World Cup played in Brazil was not telecast at prime-time, but we sold ad spots at ₹2 lakh per 10 seconds.

“This was four years ago and for the UEFA EURO 2016, we sold ad spots for similar prices. In terms of revenue, marquee events command a premium and annual events command volume.”

R Venkatasubramanian, Senior VP, Initiative, a global media agency and part of IPG Mediabrands, points out that “sponsors realise that cricket has reached a saturation point unlike other sports which are still growing in the country especially in the rural areas.”

He says that media-buying agencies are also selling ad spots in regional and national slots to gain maximum traction.

An ad spot typically costs anywhere between ₹1.5 lakh and ₹2 lakh for dark horses, while cricket commands ₹5-6 lakh for a 10-second spot.

According to data by ESP Properties, the total size of the sports advertising pie grew 19.33 per cent to₹6,400 crore in 2016 from ₹5,363.3 crore garnered in 2015.

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