ICC Men’s T20 World Cup lures in lucrative deals for Star Sports

Star Sports inks deals with 16 brands.

Star Sports and Disney India have signed lucrative deals worth almost INR 1,200 crore for the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup. This marks a significant rise – almost three times – from the figures made at the last T20 World Cup five years ago in India.

Even though the tournament gets underway after the second leg of the Indian Premier League, brands have to line up to get their on-air slots. It is reported that Star has priced 10 seconds of airtime between INR 9-9.5 lakh.

Star Sports has signed advertising deals worth INR 900 crore, while Disney+ Hotstar has signed deals worth INR 250-270 crore. Some of the confirmed on-air sponsors for the T20 World Cup are Dream11, Vimal Elaichi, Byju’s, Coca-Cola, PhonePe, Havells, Netmeds, CoinDCX, JioMart, Škoda, Mondel?z, Reliance Trends, Pernod Ricard, Upstox, Samsung and Cred. These brands will be sponsors for Star Sports, while Dream11, Vimal Elaichi, CoinSwitch Kuber, Oppo, PhonePe, Maruti Suzuki, AMFI, Swiggy, Mondel?z and Upstox will be seen on Disney+ Hotstar.

While Star Sports will be broadcasting the matches in eight languages (English, Hindi, Bengali, Kannada, Tamil, Marathi, Malayalam and Telugu), the tournament will also be streamed on Disney+Hotstar in multiple languages as well.

Nitin Bawankule, Head – Ad Sales, Star and Disney India, commented:

“The ICC T20 World Cup is a marquee property for Star & Disney India and we have received a great response from advertisers for both linear and OTT.

“This is the first edition of the T20 World Cup to be held during the festive season; this clubbed with the patriotic fervour and the fight for national pride among the various teams. We are anticipating high engagement levels across demographics.”

One of the media buyers, who preferred to remain unnamed, added:

“Total number of matches has gone up from 23 (35 including qualifiers) in the last T20 World Cup to 35 (45 including qualifiers) this time. Also, the pricing has been much higher. While there were options for advertisers to buy only on one match or India games … but the price for that was ridiculously high. It would make more sense to buy across all matches.”

That the tournament will be played during the Diwali festive season is a major reason for many brands to have jumped on the bandwagon. Moreover, given India’s meteoric rise in international cricket over the last decade, the team are favourites to go all the way, which also was a draw for the brands. The cherry on the cake, though, is the Super 12 clash between India and Pakistan, which has always been a marquee fixture. With the majority of the nation following the tournament closely, it is a no-brainer to advertise in this window.

Star, though, isn’t the only one to sign multiple sponsors; the game’s apex body ICC has also roped in 15 partners for the World Cup, which include Byju’s, Oppo, Coca-Cola, Upstox, Nissan, Royal Stag, Dream11, Jacob’s Creek, Booking.com, BharatPe, Bira, MoneyGram, MRF Tyres, Emirates and Star Sports itself.

With the World Cup having already commenced from October 17, India kickoff their campaign against Pakistan on October 24.