KOLKATA: After a year without major sporting events in the country, sports lovers are ready for an action-packed year. Team India is gearing up to play the Englishmen on home turf, marking the first time post-Covid lockdown that an international cricket series will take place on Indian soil. Given this chance, brands are also looking to score a six.
Star Sports, the official broadcaster of the England Tour of India, has seen keen interest from categories including auto, ed-tech, e-commerce, automotive, insurance, financial services, gaming, and telecom. It has signed up 18 sponsors including Oppo, Dream 11, Byju’s, Ceat, Maruti Suzuki, Kamla Pasand, Orient, Amazon, Mondelez, Pepsi, Ultratech, Policy Bazaar, Exxon Mobil, Zomato, Havells, Paisabazaar, LIC and Lenskart for the two-month-long home series.
The Test games will be a decider in India’s participation in the World Test Championship, which can create more interest and buzz leading to higher viewership. The pink ball Test is going to be a big one as it will be played during prime time.
Average reach for a bilateral series on Star Sports telecast for two-three weeks typically has been close to 190 million, which means that nearly every third pay TV viewer tuned-in to watch the bilateral series. With the upcoming India vs England matches in Feb-March 2021 scheduled to have more telecast days compared to the series in the past, the broadcaster expects an even higher viewer turn-out on TV. Additionally, it will be streamed on Disney+ Hotstar across five languages –English, Hindi, Kannada, Tamil, and Telugu.
“There is high interest in the series post the remarkable Australia win and the fact that the test will also decide India’s participation in the World Test Championship makes us confident of achieving record viewership. The series also marks the return of international cricket after a long gap, this has built great anticipation amongst the fans as well as advertisers,” Star Sports executive vice president Anil Jayaraj said.
“The two-month-long series will prove beneficial for brands, especially the day-night test which will be an exceptional opportunity for advertisers to leverage as the matches will be broadcast during prime time,” he added.
In line with the sentiment of the nation of resilience, the broadcaster recently launched its campaign #IndiaTaiyarHai that highlights the excitement and eagerness of viewers and fans waiting to welcome home their favourite cricket heroes. Bringing the campaign to life, Boman Irani plays an avid Team India fan who is the general manager of the hotel where the England cricket team is put up. In the film, Irani’s character playfully tries to hassle the England cricketers during their stay, in the competitive spirit of the game.
