ESPN ad rates soar to 20 lakh per 10 seconds for India-Pakistan semifinal

If you think it was only the tickets for India-Pakistan semi-final match which were getting sold for more than one lakh, then probably you are wrong. Even the advertisers are ready to shell out moolah just to get a ten second ad spot during the India-Pakistan semi final match.

Media experts feel that India Pakistan semi final match is biggest marketing opportunity on the planet and it will attract crores of eyeballs. No GEC or IPL can provide that viewership. So the advertisers can’t let it go. Even on the online platform the match will register record number of online streaming.

Subhrangshu Neogi of Religare, one of the on air advertisers in the cricket world cup told BestMediaInfo.com, “One of the biggest advantages with advertising on ESPN for the world cup is that its not cluttered as an IPL environment. The brand gets good visibility. That’s not in the case of IPL or any other event. We are not sponsors but we have cherry picked some matches and fortunately it has worked for us as India and Pakistan are clashing in the semifinal.”

ESPN is charging over Rs.20 lakh per 10 seconds for the last minute ad inventory and advertisers are even to ready to pay the amount as they know that never in coming years they’ll get a bigger marketing opportunity than the India-Pakistan semi-final world cup match .

The rates ranged from Rs 4-5 lakh for 10-second spots before the start of the tournament to Rs 10-11 lakh when it was clear that India will play Australia in the quarter final.

Times, Nimbus scout for global partners to sublicense IPL rights

Times Internet and Nimbus Communication on Tuesday said they are looking for global partners across media platforms to sublicense IPL rights that they have bagged this week from the BCCI.

The BCCI on Sunday announced that the media rights tender for IPL's global Internet, mobile and radio rights, along with television rights in certain television territories have been awarded to a consortium led by Times Internet Ltd for Rs 261.6 crore for four years till 2014.

A part of the consortium, Nimbus said it has the global broadcast rights, excluding territories of the Indian sub-continent, Australia, South Africa, West Asia, the Caribbean, Hong Kong and Singapore. It is now scouting for tie-up with global partners in over 60 countries.

"We are in talks with companies for partnership in over 60 countries for which Nimbus has bagged the TV broadcast rights for IPL," Nimbus Communications COO Yannick Colaco told PTI.

The TV rights for Indian sub-continent along with certain other territories that continue to be held by SET MAX were however, not part of the tender offer. The IPL 2011 season starts on April 8 when Chennai Super Kings host the Kolkata Knight Riders in Chennai.

Colaco said Nimbus is mainly looking at advertising and subscription as primary revenue streams from the international markets.

Similarly Times Internet that has radio, Internet and mobile rights for the IPL is also looking to sublicense the rights with BCCI's approval in countries outside India.

"Primarily, we would be looking at sublicensing of mobile and radio rights in territories that we are not present in, with the approval of the BCCI," Times Internet CEO Rishi Khiani said.

He said in case of the Internet, the company will manage almost all the territories across the globe on its own.

"There is a huge opportunity to tap large audience in cricket playing nations and countries which have a big chunk of cricket fans," Khiani said.

For revenue generation, the company is looking at different models, including advertisements, subscription, sponsorships and pay-per-page download, he said.

Neither Nimbus nor Times Internet divulged the revenue expectation from the new rights merely saying the event offers an opportunity to make good money.

IPL 2011 Tickets Price List, Online Tickets Booking Details

Indian Premier League fourth edition opening Match ticket will go on sale at MA Chidambaram Stadium Venue at Chennai. Opening Match between defending Champion Chennai Super Kings vs Kolkata Knight Riders at Chennai on 8th April 2011.

IPL 4 Tickets will go on sale from 24th March at MA Chidambaram Stadium. Tickets will be sold from 9.30 AM to 1.00 PM and from 2 PM to 6 PM. IPL 4 Tickets also book online at www.chennaisuperkings.com.

Tickets Price Listed below

Rs. 500 - A, B, C Lower Tier
Rs. 1,200 - G, H, I Lower Tier
Rs. 2,000 - A, B, C Upper Tier
Rs. 2,500 - G, H, I Upper Tier
Rs. 3,000 - D Lower Tier and F Lower Tier
Rs. 4,000 - D, E, F Upper Tier
Rs. 5,000 - T3
Rs. 8,000 - Pavilion Terrace
Rs. 15,000 - Anna Pavilion
Rs. 15,000 - Air Conditioned Hospitality seats in the middle tiers of A, B, C, G, H & I
Rs. 25,000 - Hospitality Seats for D, E & F