Indian Premier League Season 10: Big business, big bucks

Sony Pictures Networks India has sold nearly all its ad inventory, worth Rs. 1,300 crore. 12 sponsors are on board. The tournament will be broadcast between April 5 and May 21.

Come April 5, Ashwin and Kohli will be battling it out on the cricket field against each other as the multi-million-dollar franchise cricket tournament, Indian Premier League will march on. Close encounters have always been the biggest entertainment for viewers, be it the gladiators in the Colosseum or Muhammad Ali versus George Foreman, but those encounters were only cherished by hundreds and thousands present in the auditorium. IPL, which takes place in the Indian backyard, not only attracts packed stadiums but also garners millions of eyeballs through television broadcasts. 50 days of high voltage cricket on screen gives brands an opportunity to make a mark in the mind of immersed viewers and hence advertising dollars flow in big numbers.

Sony Pictures Networks India (SPNI), the official television broadcaster of Indian Premier League, will be broadcasting the tournament for the 10th consecutive year. The media conglomerate acquired the rights for a 10 year period for Rs. 8,200 crore. 2017 is the last year of the ten year deal and the media rights are already up for bidding.

SPNI has roped in 12 sponsors already with Vivo, Vodafone and Amazon as presenting sponsors while Havells, Makemytrip, Voltas, CEAT Tyres, Vimal Pan Masala, Yamaha Motors, Parle Agro Frooti, Yes Bank and Polycab joined in as associate sponsors. The broadcaster is targeting Rs. 1,300 crore of advertising revenue, "On the advertising front, we are very close to meeting our targets. Most of our inventory is sold which shows how much brands believe in the tournament. It's good to have Havells back, Makemytrip is also back," says Rohit Gupta, president network sales, SPNI. The network reportedly generated Rs. 1,100 crore of advertising revenue from the 2016 broadcast.

"For the remaining slots we will charge at Rs. 6,25,000 per ten seconds for SD feeds while for HD it is Rs. 2,25,000," adds Gupta. Initial rates for SD feeds were Rs 6 lakhs while for HD it was Rs. 2 lakhs.

The broadcaster has launched its campaign to promote the television broadcast. Titled '10 saal aapke naam', the campaign which consists of six ad films is created by DDB Mudra. "Keep fans at the centre of everything, was the brief we gave to the agency," says Neeraj Vyas, senior executive vice president & business head, Sony MAX cluster, SPNI.

"We will promote the campaign through our 30 channels, and will go to other networks to promote it on the kind of channels that we do not have, like news channels. This was the easiest campaign to crack in terms of ideation, especially after the risk we took last year where we spoke about the mood of the nation at that time which was not very pleasant." says Vyas, adding, "This year's marketing campaign borrows from real life insights on how viewers of VIVO IPL engage and involve themselves with the game. We believe that the fans are instrumental in making this tournament the mega blockbuster that it is and that is why this year's campaign is an ode to the VIVO IPL Fan."

The films are directed & filmed by ad film director Hemant Bhandari of Chrome Pictures Media. For the anthem, the broadcaster has roped in music composer duo, Salim- Sulaiman and singer, Benny Dayal. With phrases like Mahaul sajatey, Haal batatey, Halla machatey, the VIVO IPL anthem salutes the passion of the zealot who passionately follows the game and cheers at the stroke of every four and six.

Let's have a look at the 10 years from season one:

Year 2008 - 'Manoranjan Ka Baap'

Year 2009 - 'Ek Desh Ek Junoon'

Year 2010 - 'Saare Jahaan Se Accha'

Year 2011 - 'Bharat Bandh'

Year 2012 - 'Aisa Mauka Aur Kahan Milega'

Year 2013 - 'Pepsi IPL, Sirf Dekhneka Nahi'

Year 2014 - 'Come On, Bulaava Aaya Hai'

Year 2015 - 'India Ka Tyohaar'

Year 2016 - VIVO IPl, 'Ek India Happy Wala'

Year 2017 – '10 Saal Aapke Naam'