Three days are left for the Indian Premier League (IPL), the biggest cricket event in the country, to begin. Before that, the war between Disney-Star and Viacom 18 has intensified to snatch the bulk of the advertising revenue. Viacom has for the first time entered the Rs 4,500-crore advertising business, which has been dormant for some time, after winning the digital broadcast rights for IPL matches. The television broadcast rights of IPL are with Disney-Star this time too.
Sources familiar with the matter say Disney-Star is in talks with 11 major sponsors and more than 60 advertisers. Big companies like Coke, PepsiCo, Airtel, Tata Group, Asian Paints, Dreamz 11, Vivo are among those with whom the company has done deals. He is also in talks with other companies. Sources say that the company is expected to earn Rs 2,000 to 2,400 crore through advertising.
Viacom also does not want to let go of this earning opportunity and is ready to compete with Disney-Star. If sources are to be believed, the company has tied up with 700-750 advertisers across the country. It has also tied up with Google and US-based tech startup entity Moloko for shock advertising. Viacom has a lot of advertising space and opportunity, which it will take advantage of. In contrast, the possibilities of showing advertisements on television are limited.
Media strategists say that the advertising market is in trouble, so earning the same amount as the last IPL is unimaginable. But Viacom can get the benefit of Reliance Group’s investment. Reliance has recently spent Rs 100-150 crore on expanding 5G services and launching FMCG products across the country. Media strategists also say Tata, Pepsi and Coke are buying ad time on both digital and TV. But big companies like Baijus, which invested huge money in the last IPL, are not coming forward this time.
Media strategists expect Viacom 18 to earn Rs 2,000 crore from advertising and account for up to 60 per cent of the total revenue. The company has set a target of achieving 70 per cent revenue. If the company reaches this figure, then the calculation of the amount received from this advertisement will change a lot. Till now 70 to 80 percent amount has been received by TV and the rest by digital platforms. The reason for this is that Disney Star used to show IPL only to the customers of its OTT platform. But Viacom has made it completely free.
According to Hong Kong’s research agency Media Partners Asia (MPA), the total share of TV and digital in advertising revenue could be between Rs 4,115 to 4900 crore. But the agency says that this time there will be more inclination towards digital.
MPA says that Reliance Cinema can earn $ 30 to 33 million i.e. around Rs 2,400 to 2,700 crore by selling advertisements. But Disney-Star’s advertising earnings will decrease and will be limited to Rs 1,800 crore. Last year it earned around Rs 3,600 crore.
MPA says that the enthusiasm of the advertising world has cooled down due to the decrease in the number of viewers watching IPL. In 2022, the number of people watching IPL reduced to 22.9 crore only. Earlier in 2021, 26.7 people had enjoyed IPL matches.
