The Hindu Business Line : With ‘max’ ad rates, Sony looks to IPL’s next season

Mumbai, May 20 Expecting to make a killing in the last three matches of the IPL (the two semi-finals and the final match), Sony Entertainment Television believes it has set benchmarks for the second season. In fact, now the challenges for the channel (Max) are to scale up the game and market it differently in its next stint.

Speaking to Business Line, Mr Rohit Gupta, President, Network Sales, Licensing and Telephony, Sony Entertainment Television, said, “We now have to think out of the box and the challenge is to scale it all up in the second season.”

Having retained 20 per cent of the inventory time, the network is expecting to rake in revenues to the tune of Rs 6 crore for the last three matches, selling at Rs 10 lakh for 10 second spots. “There have been new advertisers on board across all industries including FMCG now,” states Mr Gupta, without revealing any names.

Max had kept aside about 600 seconds of ad inventory with an average of 200 seconds per match for the last three matches of the IPL. “More than the additional revenues, which is not much compared to the overall revenues, are the price points which have set benchmarks for the industry. It is not just about cricket but more in terms of creating value for the advertisers as price points have got set, says Mr Gupta.

But all along the tournament, the ad rates were escalating from the Rs 2 lakh per 10 second price point it started with to reach Rs 10 lakh for the semi-finals and finals. “We had sold 80 per cent of the inventory before the matches began and the rates for the balance 20 per cent have been escalating during the tournament,” said Mr Gupta. Expecting “significantly” higher ad rates in the next season, SET is relieved that the IPL concept has been accepted especially after the debacle the network faced during the last World Cup. “Today, IPL is clearly the biggest property on television. We still have a long way to go,” added Mr Gupta.

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