Neo Sports aims at Rs 150 crore in gross billings
04 Nov 2009
Even as the ongoing India-Australia one-day cricket series is proving to be an exciting contest for the spectators, the high level of interest – and resultant high television rating points – has landed a windfall for Neo Sports, the television broadcaster of the series. The sports channel is targeting gross billings of Rs150 crore.
Interestingly, the broadcaster has roped in eight sponsors for this series, and has already closed all its spots.
Neo Sports had originally set a revenue target upwards of Rs100 crore, leading to Rs150 crore and that is what the broadcaster is now looking forward to.
Traditionally, audiences have been hardcore followers of Team India, hence whenever India has been playing good cricket, it has lead to ratings irrespective of the format of the game.
Neo is expecting a minimum rating of 8 or 9 TVRs on any of the matches and these are higher rated than most of the GECs or even other matches played in recent months. While Hero Honda is the title sponsor of the ODI series, Neo Sports has also roped in Tata Docomo, Tata Motors, HP, Gillete, Samsung, Perfetti and Airtel DTH for the seven-match series.
While the ad rates on Neo Sports for bulk ads stood at Rs3.5 lakh for a 10-second spot, the normal spot buys included Rs4 lakh for a 10-second spot.
Significantly, the arrival of Gillette on board has signaled the entry of FMCG majors into cricket after two years, thus becoming the first co-presenting sponsorship. This apart, the overall billing is also likely to cross Rs150 crore in this series.
The India-Australia seven-match ODI series, which commenced on 25 October , will conclude on 11 November.
