The Indian Premier League cricket tournament is now comparable in status to the Super Bowl, and is the primary sponsorship avenue for brands wanting to break into the Indian market, according to sponsorship experts. Now in its eighth season, the latest IPL tournament, which began on April 8, has attracted some impressive audience figures. The first five matches were watched by 105 million unique viewers, according to measurement system TAM Media Research, while analysis by Google reveals that there have been more IPL Google searches than searches for the recent cricket World Cup. M&C Saatchi Sport & Entertainment Managing Dir Jamie Wynne-Morgan said the audience numbers “are nuts” and its status can now be compared to the Super Bowl. He said, “As a sporting property, if you are trying to reach an Indian audience it’s a very good property to have. You could look at something like the Super Bowl, which targets Americans. It has an interest globally and the Super Bowl gets good numbers globally, but it’s really a local event. I am sure the majority of the numbers in the IPL come from India.”
BIG BRANDS: This year’s IPL has lured in some big-name global brands as sponsors, such as Amazon and Uber, along with companies from India’s buoyant e-commerce sector that are targeting the IPL’s young demographic. These include car sales site CarTrade and e-commerce platform Snapdeal, which has not been put off by the tournament offering India's most expensive advertising rates. PepsiCo struck a $65M deal in '12 to become the headline sponsor, as it taps into the hot Indian cricket season when lots of its drinks are consumed. Sony Entertainment, the event's main broadcaster, has already sold out most of its advertising inventory and expects to pocket around $150M from advertising during the tournament. Generate Sponsorship Managing Dir Rupert Pratt said that the IPL -- and cricket in India -- is now the primary avenue for brands to stand out in India. Pratt: “Primarily, if you are a brand or a business that is wanting to break into India, there is only one vehicle that would guarantee you huge results, and it's sponsorship of cricket.”
John Reynolds is a writer in London.
