Disney Star, the linear broadcast rights holder for Tata IPL, has signed up 13 sponsors for the ongoing T20 league, including Thums Up, Dream11, Airtel, Asian Paints, Parle Biscuits, Kamla Pasand, Rupay, LIC, Tata Neu, Mountain Dew, Britannia, Jindal Panther TMT Rebars, and Cadbury. Despite competition from JioCinema, which has the digital streaming rights, the initial viewership of the league on Disney Star’s platform has encouraged the company to continue signing up advertisers. Sanjog Gupta, Disney Star Head – Sports, said that the broadcaster clocked a total of 8.7 billion minutes of consumption on TV for the opening match, which is 47% higher than last year, according to BARC India data.
Gupta stated that the interest in IPL continues to be high across multiple categories, including brands with seasonal categories. Gupta added that this year’s sponsors come from various sectors, including fantasy gaming, beverages makers, telecom, FMCG, fintech, insurance, auto and ancillaries, online delivery, consumer durables, paints and construction, and travel. Gupta emphasized that advertisers want undistracted and uninterrupted attention, which is why the television platform is preferable. On smaller screens, viewers tend to be distracted due to multitasking.
Regarding revenue growth this season, Gupta said it would be difficult for him to comment at this early stage of the IPL season. Only six of the 74 matches have been played, and advertisers are still coming in. Gupta believes that serving fans differently is the solution to the competition for eyeballs with Reliance-owned JioCinema, which has the digital streaming rights for IPL. Gupta added that they do not see it as a zero-sum game and see it as an opportunity to serve fans differently. Gupta emphasized that Disney Star’s intent was to bring a sense of togetherness and community around IPL and enjoyed it together.
Disney Star has signed up cricket stars, Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma, Ravindra Jadeja, Hardik Pandya, K L Rahul, and Shreyas Iyer, for its campaign to promote fans watching the tournament on television broadcast. Gupta said that Disney Star’s aim is to elevate the fan experience on Star Sports. For the first time, new features have been introduced for fans watching Star Sports on Tata Play and Airtel to watch instant highlights. Gupta added that they have introduced statistics on demand on the button with Tata Play and Airtel.
Although Disney Star has TV rights only for IPL, Gupta said it is screen agnostic now as it engages with fans across all screen formats. Star Sports has a significant presence on social media as well, and the company uses those channels or platforms to engage with off-platform audiences when Star Sports doesn’t have the live match on. Last year, the cricket body BCCI sold the broadcast rights for the 2023-27 cycle of the IPL for a whopping Rs 48,390 crore. Disney Star bagged the television rights for the Indian subcontinent for Rs 23,575 crore, and Reliance-backed Viacom18 got digital rights for Rs 20,500 crore.
Regarding recouping the money paid for the rights, Gupta said it’s a five-year investment, and it’s too early to evaluate an investment on that. It’s not something that they can recoup in one year. It’s a significant investment that will bear fruit, and they will see returns over the next five years. When Disney Star decided to make the investment, they had a plan on how to recoup the investment and stay committed.
