NEW DELHI: With non-stop TV coverage of Anna Hazare’s movement out of the way, India’s full attention returns to the Indian Premier League (IPL) tourney that began on April 8. Or so advertisers hope.
Broadcaster MSM or Multi Screen Media, which owns the SET and MAX channels broadcasting the cricket gala, has hiked its ad rates for this season by 20 per cent and is hopeful of a further 10 per cent increase in ad revenues from the property this year. Earlier known as Sony Entertainment Multi Screen Media Pvt Ltd, the company has the IPL T20 broadcast rights in the Indian subcontinent from 2008 to 2017.
In 2010, the IPL had generated over Rs 700 crore in ad revenue for the MSML.
This year, the company is expecting the revenue to touch Rs 1,000 crore.
“We have increased our ad rates this year,” Rohit Gupta, president, MSM network sales, licensing and telephony, told The Sunday Standard over phone from Chennai. “We have already sold most of the ad spots.
Only 10-15 per cent of the inventory has been kept aside for the semi-finals and final. The value of those will be decided only in May.” The rate for a 10-second spot has spiked from Rs 5.5 lakh in 2010 to Rs 6.5 lakh this year for big advertisers such as Vodafone, Godrej, Cadbury, LG and Samsung.
Besides maximising its revenues, MSML has also widened its advertiser base. “We have got several FMCG brands on board this time. They’ve not been keen to buy cricket in the past,” Gupta said. The newbies include Piramal, Tata Motors, Nikon, Paragon, Kansai Nerolac Paints, Hitachi, Cadbury and Johnson & Johnson.