- Star Sports may lose 10-15 crores expected advertising revenue.
- Millions of Indian fans around the globe were disappointed on July 10 when India lost to New Zealand
India’s World Cup semi-final loss may cost Star Sports around 10-15 crores in advertising revenue. Star Sports being the official broadcaster of the World Cup hoped to make 25-30 lakh per 10 seconds if India played the finals. Millions of Indian fans around the globe were disappointed on July 10 when India lost to New Zealand in a blink-and-miss high-tension semi-final game with 18 runs.
However, “since Star has been selling ads in bundled deals, leaving a small inventory for last minute buys, there may not be significant revenue loss,” stated Harsha Joshi, an independent media consultant.
But the opportunity of selling a few last-minute spots has been lost because of India’s exit,” she said, adding that even if the broadcaster had sold the inventory at ₹30 lakh per 10 seconds, it would have made an additional ₹8-10 crore.
Star would have paid important premium selling last-minute ad spots for as high as ~25-30 lakh per 10 seconds, according to media buyers ‘ projections, if India were to play the finals. These spots are currently expected to be sold for somewhere from 15-17 lakh.
While India’s exit is disappointing, it’s still a bonanza moment for brands with over 100 days of non-stop cricket action split between the Indian Premier League (IPL) and the ICC World Cup,”
said Sandeep Goyal, chairman of Mogae Media, a Mumbai-based marketing and communication agency.
Brands pay the enormous premium, often launching fresh products/services because it provides enormous reach during a World Cup final game,” said Ms. Harsha.
Additional Reading: Hotstar crossed 100 million user mark during Ind vs Pak
A typical World Cup game has a complete ad inventory of about 5,500 seconds, while Star can load up to 7,000 seconds of inventory during the final, depending on demand, which can further boost its income capacity. Star has signed over 40 top advertisers, including PhonePe, OnePlus, Havells, Amazon, Dream11, MRF Tyres, Coca-Cola, Uber, Mondelez, Oppo, Philips, Ceat Tyres, Swiggy, Airtel, Vodafone, Netflix, Paisabazaar and ICICI Lombard, taking advantage of the popularity of the ICC Cricket World Cup, the event that is taking place in England and Wales.
According to media buyers ‘ estimates, the broadcaster is expected to generate between 1,200 crore and 1,500 crores via television advertising and an additional 3,300 crore on its Hotstar video streaming platform. These estimates are more than double the approximately 700 crore revenue Star booked in the 2015 World Cup.
“It’s a long summer peak period, meaning certain brand categories that don’t advertise during this moment, also came on board to get consumer eyeballs through World Cup matches,” noted Goyal from Mogae Media.
Hotstar has launched an extra ad income stream this year, with Star India pushing bundled ad deals, including both TV and digital platforms.
However, with the defeat of Australia in the other semi-final, this World Cup is sure to make history as both the teams in the final have never won the prestigious title before. Hope Star Sports is able to cash the moment and recover some part of the expected revenue.
