Team India: The new leader of world cricket

Team India: The new leader of world cricket


NEW DELHI: As Dhoni’s irrepressible India beat Australia on Tuesday to clinch the Commonwealth Bank triangular one-day series Down Under, the buzz grew louder: the country which pours the maximum money into the sport is the new leader of world cricket, at least for the time being.

The four-and-a-half-month tour is being seen as a landmark in world cricket. The controversial tour, which generated record heat on and off the field, saw India overcoming a racism row, defeat Australia in a Test, and win the tri-series beating the World Champions comprehensively in their own backyard — something more illustrious teams failed to achieve.

Said Mindshare GM MK Machiah: “The rivalry between the Indian and Australian teams has surpassed that of India and Pakistan. It’s like India just doesn’t want to lose to Australia.”




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Broadcaster ESPN-Start Sports is learnt to have pocketed Rs 100-110 crore by way of ad sales from the ODIs and Rs 40-50 crore from the Test series. Series sponsors Bharti, Coca-Cola, Motorola, Havells, Frito-Lay and Perfetti have reaped the benefits of investing in the series, even as ESPN managed to sell 10-second spots at Rs 2.5-3 lakh for the two finals.

Though this is nowhere close to what ESPN-Star Sports raked in from last year’s Twenty20 tournament which India won, media experts said that it’s better than average for the just-concluded Test and one-day series in Australia.

Motorola’s director, marketing, Lloyd Mathias said: “The series has delivered the results and it’s been excellent value for money for us.”

“This win will set the pace for upcoming cricket tournaments. Few advertisers can afford to ignore the sport now,” said Starcom MediaVest executive director Tarun Nigam.

Forthcoming cricket events include an India-South Africa series later this month to be broadcast on Neo Sports and the inaugural Indian Premier League in April (to be broadcast on Sony), followed by the Asia Cup in June-July.

No wonder many expect a rise in ad rates. Said Mindshare’s Machiah: “There will be some inflation in rates but it will be driven by the teams India will play and the time band during which the matches are held. During the prime time, for example, viewership jumps 30%.”

Already, cricket matches outperform almost every popular entertainment show both in terms of television ratings and ad rates. A ‘Kyunki Saas Bhi...’ on Star Plus, for example, delivers a rating of 3.5-4, while a cricket match involving India delivers ratings anywhere between 5 and 8. This shoots up to 12-14 in the case of T20 matches.

Valuation of Indian cricket stars is expected to go up further. Said Madison Media Plus CEO Basabdatta Chowdhuri: “The overall buoyancy will reflect in (star) valuation. Since cricket is the only sport that’s popular, the valuation is naturally steep.”

Valuation of Indian cricketers are in any case the highest in the world — something proved by the recent IPL auction which saw Indian ODI captain MS Dhoni being bought for a whopping Rs 6 crore.

http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/News/News_By_Industry/Team_India_The_new_leader_of_world_cricket/articleshow/2838394.cms