Monday, August 20, 2007

Twenty20 cup: Low on time, high on rates

If advertising Advertisement on the shorter version of the country’s most loved game is expensive, then spare a thought for the shortest version. The inaugural ICC World Twenty20, scheduled to take place in September 2007 in South Africa, is seeing some record-breaking ad rates owing to the novelty surrounding the new format, high reach and limited opportunity to advertise during the matches.

According to media buyers, the ad rates for TV spots during the cricket matches are as high as Rs 2.5 lakh-Rs 3 lakh per 10 seconds, which is 100 per cent higher than what they were during the ICC Cricket World Cup held in West Indies in May-June 2007.


The new format is being seen as cricket’s answer to soccer, which is the world’s most popular sport merely because of its shorter time frame and mass appeal. “Surely the new format will do a world of good to the game and will ensure more eyeballs,” says Amin Lakhani, director, CTG, GroupM.

The shorter format of the game will have 20 overs per side. Each side has just 80 minutes to get through its 20 overs. There is 15 minutes between each innings. The next batsman has 90 seconds after the fall of a wicket to get to the crease. “There’s a lot of emphasis on time management. It is a whole new ball game, an enhancement of the one-day format to make the game fast, furious and instant. It is full of action and appealing to the younger crowd,” adds Mona Jain Senior vice-president, ZenithOptimedia.

Apart from the shorter version, experts cite the absence of minnows (weaker teams) as another major attraction of the series. “In the World Cup a few months back, nearly half the games featured a minnow, in a way killing the interest levels. The upcoming series doesn’t carry that baggage. In a way, it can be called the clash of titans,” says Jain.

The upcoming series also has far bigger reach as ESS, who has the right to telecast the series, has entered into various distribution deals, bringing the game to new markets and audiences whilst continuing to strengthen its popularity in the core territories. The coverage will be available on ESPN, STAR Sports, STAR Cricket and their affiliated television channels in various Asian countries, including India, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Malaysia, Singapore, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Thailand and China. In addition, ESPN STAR Sports has secured broadcast partnerships with the world’s leading broadcasters across the globe, including deals with DirecTV and ATN in North America, Caribbean Media Corporation in the Caribbean, South African Broadcasting Corporation and Super Sports in Africa, Taj TV (Ten Sports) in West Asia, Sky Television Network in New Zealand, Geo in the United Kingdom and Pakistan, Premier Media Group in Australia and SuperSport in Greece, Cyprus and Mauritius.

“Bigger reach surely means more eyeballs but only for multinational clients and isn’t applicable to all advertisers, especially the ones targeting a local audience,” says Jain.

Another important factor that lead to high MORs (market operating rates) is the timing of the matches. “The matches couldn’t have been better timed, especially for the sub-continent audience. There is more than one match per day mostly starting in the evening and during prime time. There’s always a premium attached to prime time,” says Lakhani.

Lastly, lack of opportunity or limited ad slots has played a big role in jacking up the rates. “There’s a limit to total advertising time in each match as there’s not much of a break and everything has to be finished within three hours. As per estimates, total ads per match can’t exceed 80, thus making it a clear case of high demand and low supply,” adds Jain.

The inaugural ICC World Twenty20 South Africa 2007 to be held in September will be the first event to be hosted by ESPN STAR Sports as a part of the eight-year agreement with ICC. The tournament has stirred up a lot of interest, not just in the sub-continent, but also in South Africa, with sell-out crowds expected for the matches.

All media planners and advertisers have fixed their eyes on the event. The question now is whether it can live up to their expectations?

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Sunday, August 19, 2007

Twenty20 World Cup to be aired in 105 countries

Aug. 17 China will be introduced to live ICC cricket this September with the inaugural Twenty20 World Cup.ESPN STAR Sports, the broadcast rights holder to ICC tournaments, said it has secured coverage of the tournament in over 105 countries.“In addition to these partnerships, we are currently in discussions with more broadcasters across markets and we would soon be sharing the details on them. This would further extend the reach of this tournament, thus setting new standards of global distribution of cricket,” said Mr Manu Sawhney, Executive V-P, Programming and Marketing, ESPN STAR Sports. The broadcaster is believed to be charging advertisers a higher rate than what was seen during the World Cup. ESPN is betting on the event drawing interest from the game’s regular fans as well as from new audiences who will stop by the channel purely for the entertainment value that the Twenty20 format is expected to offer.

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