Storyboard | Star Sports keeps 10-15% inventory for T20 World Cup finals

"Brands which had held back M&P investments are now opening up – all the new fin-tech advertisers are a case in point – and driving up last minute inventory demand," says Navin Lalchandani, SVP, Starcom.

"Some legacy advertisers in sectors like automobiles, which are male-focused, have also bought on the tournament at the last minute. Having said that, cricket always does see last-minute demand and the actual monetization potential for the broadcaster depends on how India performs in the matches," says Lalchandani.

Industry sources say Star Sports quoted Rs 16-18 lakh for 10-second ad slots for the tournament. According to reports, Star Sports has sold inventory worth upwards of Rs 1000 crore for the T20 World Cup 2021, which is a huge jump from the last season. They are continuing the bull run from the second leg of the Indian Premier League, the official broadcasters increased the rates from Rs 13-14 lakh to around Rs 18 lakh per 10 seconds, as per the sources in the industry.

"As per the GroupM’s ESP properties report, Star Sports was able to pull in Rs 260 crore net 'on air' ad sales revenues for the previous edition of ICC Men's T20. India exiting the tournament at the semi-finals impacted the ad rates for the finals. If India makes it to the finals this year, Star will sell last-minute inventory and charge a premium," says Ambika Sharma, Founder, and MD at digital marketing agency, Pulp Strategy.

Talking of the last season, during the ICC World Cup T20 held in India 2016, the cumulative in-home viewership for the tournament in India was 730 million, an increase of 114 percent over the previous edition. "This year also we are expecting last-minute changes if India reaches and crosses past records," says Sharma.

The sponsor list for the season includes Byju’s, Dream11, Coca Cola, Vimal, PhonePe, Havells, Netmeds, CoinDCX, JioMart, Skoda, Mondelez, Reliance Trends, Pernod, Upstox, Samsung and Cred.

Disney+ Hotstar will be seeing Dream11, Vimal Elaichi, Coinswitch, Oppo, Swiggy, Maruti, AMFI, PhonePe, Mondelez and Upstox this season.

The overall sentiment of brands has been high this season, helping properties like the T20 World Cup push demand and ad rates.

"Nearly all our clients are currently active on TV, even those who typically avoid the festive season have planned campaigns this year. There has thus been an increase in demand for inventory on properties like the ongoing T20 World Cup. The demand is likely fed by the timing of the tournament – Covid cases seem to be under control, there is buoyancy in the air and the festive season is in full-swing."