Big bucks at play
Gaurav Choudhury

ON SPORTS TRIBUNE

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For the non-cricket-loving world, cricket is still an archetypical English game headquartered out of London. The truth, however, is different. A heady mix of money, marketing and passion have virtually made the Indian subcontinent the axis of the game.

The India-Pakistan cricket series is one marketing opportunity no corporate is willing to let go. Contracts, commercials, prime-time television rights, official sponsors, ambush campaigns, in-stadia rights — corporates are jostling for more space and ad time in one of the most keenly followed series.

As a pure branding exercise, cricket provides the widest field to reach out to prospective patrons. That is why almost everything, from the scorecard to the sightscreens, are up for sale. If one adds to this the television commercial rates, which are dynamic and keep increasing with the closeness of the on-field contests, the amount of money generated would be staggering.

Sample this: The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) reportedly made a cool profit of $ 20 million when Sourav Ganguly led a team to Pakistan last year. Analysts say this is unprecedented as never in the history of modern cricket, a single two-country series have earned so much of money. The World Cups are different.

The upcoming series, however, is unlikely to match up to those figures.

There was a lot of history associated with the last series. For the first time in 15 years, an Indian cricket team was visiting Pakistan. The hype was phenomenal. The expectations were enormous. This series, for obvious reasons, does not have the same run-up, says Senjam Rajshekhar of Samsung India Limited.

Sanjay Lall, CEO, Percept D’Mark concurs with this opinion. India’s tour to Pakistan last year was a novelty. Needless to say, for advertising and marketing, there was a huge premium attached. The same cannot be repeated this year, says Lall.

Dubai-based Ten Sports, which won the television rights, charged a whopping $ 10,000 for a 10-second spot as the one-day series reached a nail-biting finale. During the World Cup in South Africa, Set Max reportedly pegged the India-Pakistan clash at Rs 2,37,000 for 10 seconds, the highest for the entire World Cup. The rates were actually lower, when India played Australia in the final.

Similar levels are unlikely to be reached this year and rates will be lower, feels Lall. The run-up to the series has also been marred by controversies and it was uncertain till last week which channel would get the telecasting rights. Eventually, in an interim order the Madras High Court has offered the terrestrial broadcasting rights to Prasar Bharati.

The TV rights issue ran into a dispute with Zee Telefilms, who won the original four-year bid for a record $ 308 million, and ESPN-Star Sports slugging it out in the court rooms to get the rights.

With the matter entering into a protracted legal battle, the two recent home series against Australia and South Africa and a one-off international against Pakistan, was offered to national broadcaster Doordarshan. As per the directives of the Supreme Court, the revenue earned by Doordarshan from the ad hoc arrangement, has been deposited with the Supreme Court.

Media analysts reckon that earnings of Doordarshan during these matches were in the range of $ 23 million.

This prolonged uncertainty in granting television rights, however, may have its toll. "This has meant that not much of advance planning can go into the television marketing arena as the series is round the corner", Rajshekhar said.

Industry observers point out that the FMCG and consumer durable products would be the most generous spenders during the series.

Seasonality and brand positioning are key determinants while deciding to buy ad spots.

Since the tournament commences on the eve of summer, categories like soft drinks and durables (primarily refrigerators and ACs), would seek to cash in on the event.

At the same time, however, media analysts said lower returns does not mean that advertising space will be left out. Every inch of it would be taken.

Lall said the timing of the series was also a key determinant of the monetary returns. "The series is taking place in March. It may so happen that many big ad spenders may have to redo their budget, as we are nearing the end of the fiscal year", he said.

On the other hand, for white goods manufacturers (consumer durables), the series could not have come at a better time. One media analyst, who did not wish to be named, said the collective ad budget of the consumer durables industry, by the time the series ends in April would be in excess of Rs 200 crore.

But there are still many who are jostling to get as large a share of the pie as possible. "We have had a very good experience with the last India-Pakistan series where our ad budget was to the tune of around Rs 50 lakh and got a very good response from the market", says Sunil Bhalla, Managing Director, SAR SiliconSystems Pvt Ltd. (Owners Luminous Brand).

This time also, the company has set aside a significant portion of its ad budget and signed up the former cricketer-turned-commentator-turned-politician Navjot Singh Sidhu as brand ambassador.

"Advertisements featuring Sidhu will be aired on television during the tournament," Bhalla said.

Television commercials, broadcasting rights and in-stadia hoardings are only a part of the story. The indirect marketing and promotional spin-offs that the series would entail also carries enormous potential.

The hospitality industry would have the occasion to cash in on the contests as about 8,000 fans are expected to cross over to India to cheer the Pakistan team. As these fans travel to India, there is bound to be a temporary spurt in tourism revenue and malls and shopping arcades are expected to see a significant increase in foot-falls.

The hype may be relatively subdued, but the commercial bottomline is clear. Cricket remains the most valuable trade exchange between India and Pakistan.

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