Global brands are spending millions of dollars to get their names featured during the Cricket World Cup in India, Bloomberg reported on Thursday.
India is hosting the Cricket World Cup from October 5 to November 19. All 48 matches of the World Cup will be held across 10 venues as ODI cricket’s flagship tournament returns to India for the fourth time.
Per industry estimates, major global brands are likely to spend about ₹2,000 crore ($240 million) on advertisement spots on streaming platforms during the tournament.
Jehil Thakkar, a partner at Deloitte India, told Bloomberg that a 10-second advertising slot during matches costs up to ₹30 lakh (3 million rupees).
This is a 40% increase from the prices in the last World Cup in 2019, he said. “Demand for eyeballs is really strong,” Thakkar pointed out.
Among the major brands that are paying for airtime during the World Cup are Coca-Cola Co., Alphabet Inc.’s Google Pay and Unilever Plc’s India unit, Hindustan Unilever Ltd. Other companies such as Saudi Aramco, Emirates and Nissan Motor Co. are among the ICC’s list of official partners.
Disney Star, which holds the broadcast rights for the World Cup, said in a statement that it has partnered with 26 sponsors including Booking.com BV and liquor company Diageo Plc, the agency reported.
“The Cricket World Cup is the biggest sporting event of the year for fans across the country,” said Yannick Colaco, co-founder of FanCode, the International Cricket Council’s official retail partner in India for the event. “No other sports tournament captures the hearts and minds of Indian fans like a World Cup. That’s why you see brands and companies making a beeline to be associated with the tournament.”
The Cricket World Cup 2023 will begin on October 5 with defending champions England taking on last edition’s runner-up New Zealand in the tournament opener in Ahmedabad.
The city’s Narendra Modi Stadium will also play host to the final on November 19. It will also be the venue for the blockbuster India vs Pakistan clash on October 14. The two semifinals will be played at Mumbai’s Wankhede Stadium and Kolkata’s Eden Gardens on November 15 and 16 respectively.
Besides Ahmedabad, the cricket matches will be held in Mumbai, Lucknow Dharamshala, Hyderabad, Kolkata, Pune, Delhi, Chennai, and Bengaluru. Eight of the 10 teams had already qualified for cricket’s grand extravaganza and the remaining two were determined through the World Cup Qualifiers.
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