The Hindu Business Line : Bangladesh tri-series ad spots sold out

Mumbai, June 10 The tri-series currently being played in Bangladesh, being aired by Neo Cricket, has gained from the IPL hype as its ad time slots (of nearly 5,100 seconds) have been sold out for all its four matches. According to Mr Sunil Manocha, Executive Vice-President, ad sales, Neo Sports Broadcast, “Cricket is delivering and demand for these matches was good and we have sold all the inventory for an average of Rs 3.25 lakh for 10 second spots.”

While lead sponsors such as Perfetti, Tata Motors, Dr Batra, Birla Sun Life and Hindustan Times bagged the highest amount of airtime, there were other advertisers such as Hero Honda, Airtel and Parle Agro who also bought a considerable number of spots during the matches.

While the India-Pakistan matches are expected to gather the maximum audience, ad rates are expected to peak for the final match. “Ad rates are a function of expected viewership and it is obvious that the India-Pakistan matches get the highest ratings,” said Mr Manocha. In fact, most advertisers have forgotten the World Cup debacle and now believe that cricket delivers especially after the success of IPL’s T-20 format. “Across the country, cricket has a market as the North, West and Eastern States command the maximum viewership for the game. The World Cup debacle has been long forgotten,” observes Mr Manocha.

The tri-series would also be streamed through the new media initiative by the Nimbus group under cricketnirvana.com.

Neo Cricket has the exclusive broadcast rights for all international and domestic cricket played in India. It also has exclusive broadcast rights for international cricket played in Bangladesh and Kenya. In 2008, Neo Cricket will broadcast a minimum of six international cricket series, including four featuring India, adding up to nearly 200 days of live cricket.

In addition, Neo Cricket will air as many as 10 cricketainment shows, three of which are daily shows such as Dial C for Cricket, Sportszone and Encounter.

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