The Hindu Business Line : Cricket still the main draw

THE domestic advertising industry's appetite for cricket seems to be growing. While the cost of acquiring rights for cricketing events has moved skywards, the game will continue to be supported by advertisers, who are willing to pump in the millions.

India's cricketing calendar is expected to be a choc-a-block. This year itself there is the Holland Cup between India, Pakistan and Australia followed by the ICC Championship Trophy in England. Subsequently, there would be the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) matches, the mini-World Cup to be held here in 2005 and the World Cup in West Indies in 2007. Added to these would be matches played by India outside the country.

"In Indian television, cricket and cinema sell. Cricket is only going to spur growth of both the advertising and the television industry as it attracts the largest number of viewers," said Mr L.V. Krishnan, CEO, TAM India (a research agency). Except during the two-month period between May-July when there were no matches, India has been playing back-to-back series, he added.

Advertising industry officials maintain that the cost of acquiring the BCCI matches is not very high. If the highest bid were at around Rs 1,200 crore, the yearly break-up for the next three years would be around Rs 400 crore. Add to that the production cost of Rs 50 crore per year, the total expenditure is not very high. "Broadcasters will not just rely on advertising to make money, they will also look at other revenue streams such as subscription, sale of overseas and internet rights, and so on. However, I think that the existing ad rates are high and it doesn't make sense for advertisers to increase them further," said Mr Ashutosh Srivastava, Managing Director, Mindshare India. In the US, a 10-second ad spot on the Super Bowl costs as much as $2 million compared to $25,000 for a spot on a premier cricket series.

In fact, the increase in cricketing events will only force broadcasters to innovate. "There will be new platforms that will be available for even smaller advertisers to go on," said Mr Krishnan. Also, with no other sport competing for space, cricket is expected to reign supreme. "While hockey, tennis and football are growing in popularity, they are nowhere close to cricket. Other formats of cricket like shorter version of the game are expected to take off," elaborated Mr Ravi Kiran, Managing Director, Starcom India (West and South).