Men in Blue perform or channels perish

[DesiChap]

Men in Blue perform or channels perish Sonali Krishna & Ratna Bhushan MUMBAI/DELHI, May 8: Hard-nosed advertisers have hammered out a deal with broadcasters such as Neo Sports and ESPN under which they will have an option to change their ad rates depending upon the Indian cricket team's performance. For the forthcoming series with both Bangladesh and England, advertisers will have an option of buying time at a discount if India loses. The discount could be as high as 20-25%, media buyers say. This differential or dynamic pricing is being implemented for the first time to protect the interests of advertisers who have felt short-changed by the performance of the men in blue in recent years. Broadcasters also have an incentive. They can charge a premium if India wins a match or a series of matches. For multinational tournaments, the rates will be based on India's presence in key matches. For instance, in the upcoming Twenty-20 World Cup in South Africa, the rates for the final stages of the tournament will hinge on India's progress to that stage. If India does not play in the semi-final, the rates will be lower. Media agencies are in the process of buying spots for the upcoming India-Bangladesh cricket series on Neo Sports, the India-England series in June on ESPN STAR, and the ICC Twenty20 World Cup Championship to be held in South Africa in September. Broadcasters have little choice but to go with the differential pricing asked by advertisers, as there does "not seem to be a mad rush to book inventory (ad spaces)," an industry executive pointed out. Meanwhile, the rates for the India-Bangladesh are about Rs 50,000-70,000 for a 10-second spot on state-owned Doordarshan channel and about Rs 80,000- 1,00,000 on satellite channels. This is in complete contrast to the Rs 1.5-1.6 lakh per 10 second rate during the India-Sri Lanka and India-West Indies series just before the World Cup. Media buyers say the Bangladesh series is not a crowd-puller and that the rates were anyway expected to be lower, but they may bounce back for the England tour. The series has already been hit by the non-participation of big-time sponsors such as LG, Hutch, Pepsi and Hero Honda. These firms, which participated in the world cup, have opted out and have been replaced by Airtel, Nokia and Coke. "If India performs well in Bangladesh, then the India-England series will be back on track in terms of both ad rates and advertiser interest," said media buying agency Madison Media Plus chief operating officer Basabdatta Chowdhuri. "The impact has not been so dramatic, as rates have not dipped significantly. ESPN has more of an advantage due to the matches being slated during Indian prime time." Amol Dighe, national investment director of Mindshare Fulcrum, another media buying agency, said. "Advertiser interest does not seem to have waned. While World Cup advertisers have stayed away, other clients have shown interest with the same gusto. We are expecting revenue of Rs 40-50 crore," Neo Sports CEO Shashi Kalathil said

[The Outsider]

Re: Men in Blue perform or channels perish Kind of inevitable after the WC debacle.

[Bumper]

Re: Men in Blue perform or channels perish Wow, a new industry is in the making. Watch out for our superstars signing an underhand deal with the advertisers for underperforming & helping them earn a discount :hic:

[koksmayu]

Re: Men in Blue perform or channels perish that`s good to see desichap sit all day, at online and watching t.v