Ten Sports, the official broadcaster for the upcoming India-South Africa cricket series, expects to rake in big moolah. This is the first international series for Team India after Tendulkar’s retirement.
The company has roped in mobile handset maker Micromax as the co-presenting sponsor for the nearly month-long series which starts from December 5. It has roped in eight co-presenting sponsors, which include tablet maker Xolo, Vodafone, Havells, Go Daddy, We Chat, Daikin, Tata Motors and ITC. These sponsors have picked up nearly 60 per cent of the ad inventory. The series will be aired on Ten Cricket and Ten HD and will have Kent RO and iBall as studio show sponsors.
“We have got very good response from advertisers for the upcoming India-South Africa series and have sold nearly 90 per cent of the inventory already” said Rajesh Sethi, CEO, Ten Sports.
Sethi said the broadcaster planned to hike rates for the balance inventory from Tuesday cashing on the traction and interest around the series.
According to industry estimates, the channel is charging about Rs 3.5-4.25 lakh per 10 seconds for one-day matches for ad spots while Test ad spots have been priced between Rs 1 lakh and Rs 1.25 lakh per 10 seconds. The co-presenting sponsor is expected to shell about Rs 8-8.5 crore, while associate sponsors will be spending about Rs 6 crore. The broadcaster is eyeing about Rs 120 crore from ad revenue, sources said.
Talking about the company’s decision to pick up associate sponsorship slot on the India-South Africa series, Daikin India MD, Kanwal Jeet Jawa, said the company was charting an aggressive course to increase its market share. “We want to reach out to the masses and move from prominence to dominance. Since cricket is like religion in India, we invested as the associate sponsor in the series,” he said.
Vijay Narayanan, Vice-President, Havells India, said, “After India-Australia, India-South Africa is one of the most watched-out-for cricket battles.”
Ten Sports will also be monetising the Internet rights for the series, as it will be live streaming the matches on its website, and has tied up with other partners.
The company has been aggressively marketing the series with various road shows across the country, besides using other mediums.