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Sony to earn 300 Cr from Indian Premier League..

February 12, 08 by

The broadcaster recently bagged the rights for Indian Premier League, the BCCI-promoted Twenty20 tournament.

Sony Entertainment Television, which recently bagged the telecast rights of the Indian Premier League (IPL), hopes to earn over Rs 300 crore as advertising revenue in the first season of the BCCI (Board of Control for Cricket in India)-promoted Twenty20 tournament.

Last month, the television broadcaster, along with sports marketing and management agency World Sports Group (WSG), won the broadcast rights for IPL for $1.03 billion (around Rs 4,120 crore) which includes $108 million (nearly Rs 432 crore) for compulsory promotional spends for 10 years.

While WSG will explore the rights internationally, Sony will cater to the Indian subcontinent.

Sony plans to rope in two presenting and six associate sponsors. While the two presenting sponsors will get around 250 seconds each per match, the associate sponsors will get visibility in the range of 200 to 150 seconds. This apart, the presenting sponsors and associate sponsors will get mileage through interactivity initiatives.

Rohit Gupta, president (network sales, licensing & telephony), Sony Entertainment Television India, said: “We will accommodate a maximum of 12 brands through presenting and associate sponsors and spot buyers given the fact that it is a three-hour match with 2,000 seconds to sell. Our estimate is that between presenting and associate sponsors, almost 1,500 to 1,600 seconds will be sold out and the remaining will be sold as spot buys.”

According to industry experts, the 10-second slots will sell for Rs 2.5 lakh to Rs 3 lakh, whereas bulk buyers (such as the presenting and associate sponsors) will shell out Rs 2.25 lakh to Rs 2.4 lakh for a 10-second slot.

The advantage advertisers have in the Twenty20 format is exclusivity.

Future Group, Nokia, Pepsi, Coke, Reliance Anil Dhirubhai Ambani Group and Reliance Industries Ltd, among others, are said to be in talks with Sony for presenting sponsorship, said sources. Airtel, Maruti Udyog, LG Electronics and Hyundai are eyeing the associate sponsorship.

Gupta refused to divulge the names of advertisers which have approached Sony, but added that the channel would seal deals by the end of this month.

Source: Business Standard



ESPN, Nimbus, Sony to bid for IPL telecast..

February 09, 08 by

BCCI Logo - IPL
BCCI Logo

The country’s leading sports broadcasters — ESPN, Nimbus and Sony — have made presentations to Board of Control for Cricket in India on their marketing plans for promotion of its upcoming Twenty20 Indian Premier League ahead of a tendering process for telecast rights expected to start by the month-end.

According to sources, the three broadcasters made presentations, in Jaipur two days back, on their plans on how to promote the upcoming IPL. The successful bidder will be announced by the first week of next month, the sources added.

Neo Sports Broadcast Pvt Ltd Chief Executive Shashi Kalathil said Neo Sports made a presentation to the cricket board.

Cricket is a good property for us and IPL promises to add value. The only concern that we have is how would it fit into the international cricketing calendar,” he said.

Set Max business head Sneha Rajni also confirmed that the channel made a presentation but declined to divulge its plans on promoting the new league. ESPN officials however declined to comment. A close fight between the three broadcasters is expected, with cricket becoming a hot broadcast property, especially after India’s success at the Twenty20 World Cup.

Kalathil, however, said with the international cricket calendar already congested, the broadcaster needs to know where IPL will be fitted.

Yet, if the league can take the following of the game to beyond just 11-12 players to 50-60, it could become a huge success,” he added.

Nimbus currently holds rights for both domestic and international matches to be played in India till 2010, while ESPN has rights for ICC matches from 2007-15, including two World Cups and three Champions Trophy and two Twenty20 World Cups.

IPL, which will be competing with Subash Chandra’s promoted Zee Networks breakaway Indian Cricket League, is expected to attract leading current players from cricket-playing nations.

Indian Premier League
IPL-Stadium-BCCI

Already 34 top players, including Sachin Tendulkar, Sourav Ganguly, Ricky Ponting, Rahul Dravid and Stephen Fleming have been signed up.

The six-team format has also attracted interests of celebrities such as Shahrukh Khan and top corporates such as Future Group, Bharti and Anil Ambani.

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