Star India to Rake Rs 1,500-1,700 crore of Festive Ad Spend from IPL

Even with the news of IPL going live on September 19, there is still a doubt whether advertisers are in a mood to spend big in this IPL season. Brands from certain categories are getting very cautious about their spendings in the given state of the economy, the situation is somewhat similar in case of big spenders as well who are very likely to go slow.

Although with the beginning of the festive season chances are high that Star India would likely gain from Festive ad, the overall picture seems to be dull and slow.

IPL will be played from the 19^th of September to the 10^th of November, the matches will be held in UAE across Dubai, Abu Dhabi, and Sharjah. It must be noted here that this is not the first time that IPL will be held outside India.

Star India as a leading media planner will make a business in the range of Rs 1,500 crore to Rs 1,700 crore in the form of revenue from the ad,  and that is 20 to 30% less than of what has been estimated in last year which stood at Rs. 2100 plus ad revenue.

“Because the economy is down, a lot of advertising will go away. For many companies such as durables, festivities suit more than April-May. They are the biggest hope for IPL this year,’’ said another media planner.

There is already an expectation that IPL will record a massive fall in the revenue count, understanding the situation and the existing backlash faced by Chinese brands in India the IPL organizers have agreed to carry on the sponsorship for Chines Brands. Vivo will continue to act as the title sponsor for the tournament.

The broadcast right for all the platforms has been bought by Star for a period of five year from 2018 to 2022 at an amount of  Rs 16,347 crore which includes the digital and the international rights. There has also been a forecast that the network will break even or make a profit of Rs 550 crore this year. However, it is very likely that the pandemic situation might turn the tables, with regard to targets and predictions.

FMCG and consumer electronics companies to lead spending

 As per Media planners they are expecting a good business from the FMCG companies and consumer electronics brands as the companies are going to make profits till the COVID situation normalizes, brands which deal with beverages and indulge themselves with ad spendings during summer may rework on their strategy in this season.

“It would not be a season for them to invest heavily. But at the same time durables and FMCG will pump monies. So it is a mixed bag. Now, how much will be compensated is a big question because the market is very soft. Star India is likely to go into the market this week onwards,” said a leading media agency head.

IPL to eat into ad share of other broadcasters

As the matches will go live during this festive season, Star India will take away the share of other broadcasters as brands are in the motive to ride their money in IPL, which is the first-ever tournament of its kind that has been played since the month of March.

The content-deprived audience is most likely to be glued to their TV sets and the tournament may even break all viewership records, experts said.

“The big impact could be on other broadcasters as IPL may absorb most of the festive spending. Whatever Star India may earn from IPL, whether it is Rs 1,500 or Rs 1,700 crore, will come from festive spending. It would be a double whammy for other genres whose revenues were wiped off by the lockdown in April and May and now IPL may hurt them in festivities when they were expecting to rebound,” said a senior executive of a leading media agency.