- The broadcaster informed that the last year's ICC Women's T20 World Cup gained twice the reach as other genres of content in the same time period
- India will play Sri Lanka in the first match of the ICC Women's Cricket World Cup on September 30
The broadcaster stated that the last year's ICC Women's T20 World Cup reached double the audience of rival content genres over the same duration.
India will host Sri Lanka in the first match of the ICC Women's Cricket World Cup on September 30. With the Women's Premier League (WPL) drawing more than 130 million viewers and with about ₹110–120 crore as ad revenues, advertiser demand and sponsorship request are at an all-time high.
Industry sources reveal that sponsorship prices have gone up by 40–50% from the 2022 edition. Title sponsorships are priced at ₹25–35 crore, and co-sponsorships at ₹10–15 crore.
The price of television ad spots is ₹1.5–2 lakh for every 10 seconds, which goes up to ₹3–3.5 lakh for India matches. On OTT platforms, an estimated ₹400–500 CPM (cost per thousand impressions) is charged.
Though official revenue data from the 2022 Women's World Cup is not available, specialists expect an increase of 70 percent this season, which is based partly on the GST slab rationalization.
The festive season has also raised the hopes of advertisers in categories like paint, home furnishings, FMCG, jewelry, and e-commerce.
As estimated by Sajal Gupta, CEO of Kiaos Marketing, some 70–75 percent of India's match’s ad inventory has been sold already.
Part of the inventory is being reserved to be sold at a premium based on India's performance. Ad spots during India–Pakistan matches are being sold at a 25–35 percent premium on TV, and connected TV (CTV) and OTT rates are up by 30–40 percent.
India’s recent on-field success has also added to the enthusiasm. Smriti Mandhana’s record-breaking century against Australia, surpassing Virat Kohli’s fastest ODI hundred by an Indian player, has heightened viewer interest.
Though the broadcaster JioStar has not yet announced the roster of sponsors and advertisers, a spokesperson confirmed robust interest from top consumer brands and festive-season advertisers.
"The depth and scale of discussions with advertisers are ahead of earlier editions by a significant margin," the spokesperson stated.
Nonetheless, there are some factors that could affect the event. There have been warnings from analysts that there could be disruptions surrounding India–Pakistan games, considering recent tensions and calls for boycotts during the Asia Cup. The Pakistan games will be hosted in Sri Lanka under a hybrid package.
JioStar announced that it is improving the viewing experience through multilingual broadcasting, player storytelling, and digital interactive features.
JioStar is hopeful, pointing out that 97 percent of matches are timed during prime time. India's group-stage matches against Australia, Pakistan, and England are all set to be played on Sundays. N. Santosh, managing partner at D&P Advisory, points out that India hosting an international women's cricket tournament after 12 years and the increased popularity of the WPL could increase OTT viewership by as much as 80 percent from 2022.
