Even as Disney and Viacom18 are set to merge, both companies pull all stops to lure advertisers for the 17th edition of the Indian Premier League, recruiting sponsors till the very last minute. JioCinema has recruited 18 sponsors so far, while Disney Star confirmed that it has 15 sponsors and counting. JioCinema has the streaming rights for IPL while Disney Star will be doing linear broadcasting of the sporting league. 

While sources told businessline that both broadcasters will post higher ad revenues for the 2024 edition of the league in comparison to the revenues accrued in 2023 – the Indian general elections could disrupt the party. Media has reported earlier that the insurance cover on the league has gone up by 25 per cent as a result of the general elections. “There is a risk attached to buying ad slots, as match schedules could be disrupted by the general elections,” Ajimon Francis Managing Director at Brand Finance explained. “Broadcasters that can provide a modular (flexible) approach to buying ads will be favoured by the advertisers,” he explained. 

JioCinema introduced targetted advertising last year, which it claims has revolutionised ad buys. This year, Disney has followed suit. Star Sports will be partnering with DTH player TATA Play, to bring forth targeted ads. This is an industry first, according to Disney. “This collaboration aims to provide advertisers with unprecedented access to the most premium audiences in the top eight metro cities, an important milestone in the realm of television advertising,” the press release stated. 

Disney confirmed that it has 15 sponsors and counting for the league. This includes “Dream 11, Asian Paints, Vimal, Thums up Charged, Havells, Joy Cosmetics, Dettol, Harpic, Vanessa, Amul, Groww, Rupay and HDFC Payzapp. 

JioCinema has onboarded 18 sponsors so far and 250 advertisers. Dream 11 is the title sponsor, HDFC Payzapp, SBI, Cred, AMFI, ICICI to name a few. JioCinema also claims that it has already roped in 250 advertisers. 

Ad rates are expected to be similar to what they were last year, “This time, there is a very fractal approach to advertising, therefore rates are hard to compare year on year,” Francis added further. 

Since 2008, IPL’s brand value has increased by 433 per cent. According to a report by GroupM, last year there was a decline in TV ad spends, while digital ad spends for the league grew by 25 per cent year on year. TV ad revenue for last year was estimated to be around ₹1,800 to ₹2,000 crore. While the ad revenues for streaming were estimated to be ₹2,300 crore. 

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