Star India rakes in 18 sponsors for Ind-Eng series; "Series will prove beneficial for brands": Anil Jayaraj

The executive vice president, Star Sports is upbeat about the two-month-long bilateral series

The Indian cricket team, which returned after beating Australia down under, will next take on world champions England at home. The series is crucial in terms of India's position in the World Test Championship.

The India versus Australia series has rejuvenated interest in test cricket. Also, India will host an international cricket tournament for the first time since the nationwide COVID-induced lockdowns imposed last March.

The interest around the bilateral series has helped broadcasters Star and Disney India rake in a good number of sponsors. The broadcasters have confirmed that 18 brands have associated with the tournament as sponsors. They include Dream 11, Byju’s, CEAT, Oppo, Maruti Suzuki, Kamla Pasand, Orient, Amazon, Mondelez, Pepsi, Ultratech, Policy Bazaar, Exxon Mobil, Zomato, Havells, Paisabazaar, LIC and Lenskart.

“There is high interest in the series, post the remarkable Australia win. And, the fact that it will also decide India’s participation in the World Test Championship makes us confident of achieving record viewership. The series also marks the return of international cricket after a long gap. This has built great anticipation amongst the fans as well as the advertisers,” says Anil Jayaraj, executive vice president, Star Sports.

“The two-month-long series will prove beneficial for the brands. Especially the day-night test (matches), which will be an exceptional opportunity for the advertisers to leverage, as they will be broadcast during prime time,” added Jayaraj.

The tournament will be broadcast on the Star Sports network and streamed on Disney+ Hotstar in five languages – English, Hindi, Kannada, Tamil and Telugu. Auto, edtech, e-commerce, automotive, insurance, financial services, gaming, and telecom are the prominent categories that have associated with the tournament as sponsors.

According to data shared by Star India, the average reach for 2-3 weeks of bilateral series on Star Sports is close to 190 million.

"Nearly every third ‘paid TV viewer’ (30 per cent) tuned in to watch the bilateral series telecast on Star Sports. With the upcoming India-England series in February-March 2021 scheduled to have more telecast days, as compared to the series in the past, we expect an even higher viewer turnout on TV," stated the media statement shared by Star India.

Bilateral series audiences are seen across all consumer segments – men, women and kids. "Of the total bilateral series viewers, (typically) 46 per cent are males above 15 years, while 53 per cent are women above 15 years and kids (2-14 years) put together," added the statement.

The data shared by Star India has been attributed to "BARC India (figures are @ 2+ U+R level).