India's Australia tour to fetch Rs 70cr for ESPN-Star

NEW DELHI: Fresh from September’s Twenty20 World Cup tournament which it sold at a huge premium of Rs 110-115 crore, the ICCs’ broadcast rights holder ESPN-Star Sports is back in the limelight. The broadcaster is likely to rustle up anywhere between Rs 65-70 crore from the India-Australia Test series starting December 26.

ESPN-Star has signed up Airtel, Perfetti van Melle, Havells and Frito Lay as sponsors, and more deals are expected to be signed this week. In addition to the sponsors, other advertisers which have signed with the broadcasting network include Motorola, Hero Honda and Maruti.

Media buying sources said 10-second spots have been sold in the range of Rs 50,000-60,000, which, they say, is satisfactory and on expected lines of a Test series involving both the countries. The length of the upcoming series, however, is proving to be a concern among advertisers.

The four Test matches will be followed by one Twenty20 match and 15 ODIs involving India, Australia and Sri Lanka. “Advertisers are wary about whether viewer interest can be sustained for the entire duration of the series. It’s a concern,” a buying source said. The ODIs, for example, will start early February next year and carry on till the first week of March.

Another source pointed out that advertisers are also considering BCCI’s Indian Premier League as an option to invest in the sport, which is resulting in some advertisers locking up investments. Buying for the ODIs, which will follow the Test series, is currently on. ESPN-Star typically follows a policy of selling air-time as a package rather than selling for individual tournaments.