The decline in viewership of the Indian Premier League (IPL) T20 that fell 30-35% this year is a key concern, and Disney Star and Viacom18 buying IPL’s broadcast rights for a combined Rs 48,390 crore last fortnight will lead to a surge in ad rates and force IPL’s advertisers to choose between TV, digital or team sponsorships, media buying companies and advertisers said.
“If for one more year, the IPL’s ratings drop, then I see a problem in the next four years,” Vikram ¤Sakhuja, group chief executive at media buying group Madison Media, told The Morning Brief, ET’s podcast series. “While not all advertisers necessarily come to IPL only for the ratings and they are not the entire game, they are still very important.” IPL’s viewership, which grew consistently till April last year, fell in the second phase of the IPL later in the year and the downward trend has continued in the latest edition, data by TV audience measurement firm Broadcast Audience Research Council India (BARC) showed.
Harish Thawani, founder of The India Club and former chief executive of Nimbus Communications, said “We saw a downward trend in ratings in the last season — if that trend continues next season, there is serious trouble in the IPL ecosystem.”
The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) auctioned media rights for the next five years to Disney Star and Viacom18 at over three times the Rs 16,347 crore that the Star Group paid in 2017.
Advertisers said they will need to reevaluate returns on investments, going forward. “If we have to be in the IPL, we’ll have to shell out more money. We could be only on TV, or digital, or with franchise teams; there are multiple scenarios possible and it’s not going to be an easy choice,” said Arnab Roy, vicepresident & head, marketing, Coca-Cola India and South West Asia.
Addressing a query on the decline in TRPs this year, Roy said: “If consumers have left your brand in this particular year, you have to recruit them back.”
The beverage maker, among the world’s biggest sponsors of global sporting events including the FIFA and Olympics, advertised on the IPL through ad spots last season. “IPL is a fantastic product; there are always opportunities to improve the product. I hope the BCCI works with all franchise teams to see where the improvements are needed,” he added.
“We will prefer to buy some ad spots rather than direct sponsorships on IPL, even though for categories like cars, sports properties directly appeal to our core target audience. The ad rates have become very steep,” said the country’s largest carmaker
Suzuki’s executive director, marketing, Shashank Srivastava.
Executives said drying up of funds among startups that accounted for more than half of IPL’s advertisers in at least the last two seasons, is also a concern among the broadcast rights holders.