ECB partners with RISE Worldwide to monetize virtual, digital ad assets in India

The England Cricket Board (ECB) has partnered with Reliance Industries-owned RISE Worldwide to monetize its virtual and digital ad inventory in the country.

The partnership, which will run until 2026, will cover marquee matches including England's bilateral series with Australia and India.

"We want to grow the audience reach and engagement for English cricket in India in a holistic way," said ECB chief commercial officer Tony Singh.


RISE Worldwide head Nikhil Bardia said monetization is a byproduct of this partnership as the main objective is to grow the fan base for English cricket.

"We want more global brands to join the ECB roster, with India being the key market," Bardia stated.

The two executives said the aim is to work with top-quality brands that want to associate with ECB.

Being the largest cricket economy in the world, India is an extremely important market for the ECB.

After India, the UK and Australia are the biggest cricket markets globally with a viable commercial model.

"India is second only to England in terms of broadcast rights revenue for the ECB. We earn 15% of our broadcast rights revenue from India," he noted.

RISE Worldwide also has a partnership with Cricket Australia for monetizing virtual inventory in India.

In virtual inventory, brand assets are integrated virtually into the broadcast feed.

Virtual inventory is being used by foreign cricket boards to earn sponsorship revenue from the Indian market.