Sponsorship slots and spot rates take a leap for the upcoming season of IPL

Even as the reputation of the Indian Premier League (IPL) has been marred by controversies, they surely haven’t been able to dent its value as an advertising property.

As per latest reports, this season of IPL would see advertisers spending a record Rs 1,200 crore. This figure has gone up by a fifth from last year.

Sony Pictures Network hold the exclusive broadcast rights, and will be airing the tournament on the Set Max, Sony Six and Sony ESPN channels in April and May. For the first time, the number of presenting sponsors has been increased from two to three. These names are Vodafone, Amazon and the first-time advertiser Oppo.

As already told, after Pepsi’s exit, rival Coca-Cola is looking at the opportunity of being a sponsor.

Even though the tournament is two months away, almost 70% of the ad inventory has been sold, a first for IPL, as told by Sony Pictures Network president Rohit Gupta.

"IPL is a risk-free investment for advertisers, as both ratings and reach have been consistently growing year on year," he said. "We are expecting 20% growth in overall revenues. The unprecedented levels of interest are despite the T20 World Cup and a host of other cricket."
In the last season of IPL, ad sales fetched Sony Pictures Network Rs 1,000 crore. To take in more profits, sponsorship slots have risen to Rs
5.25 lakh from Rs 4.75 lakh, while spot rates are up to Rs 1.5 lakh for 10-second slots from Rs 1 lakh.

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