India wins ICC T20 World Cup, but did advertisers succeed?

In a nail-biting thriller, India clinched its second ICC Men’s T20 World Cup title, triumphing over South Africa by seven runs in Barbados on Saturday. As captain Rohit Sharma and his boys wiped away tears of joy, Indians across the globe were overwhelmed with the same emotions. This victory was an answer to a billion prayers and years of waiting. But did the tournament bring the same joy to the advertisers who had pegged their spends on it?

The almost month-long tournament had several challenges for advertisers and media planners. From inconvenient timings to low-scoring matches, from multiple advertising opportunities to a mandatory self-declaration certificate (SDC), there were numerous spoilers.

The tournament was expected to have good viewership, so brands had allocated huge ad spends. Firstly, this series was seen as an opportunity for redemption after India lost the finals in the World Cup in November. Additionally, it was expected to be Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli’s last T20 international tournament. India’s spectacular performance and its entry into the finals gave it further impetus.

Harikrishnan Pillai, CEO and co-founder of TheSmallBigIdea, says that owing to all the above factors, the advertising rates were likely increased by about 20-30%. The broadcaster Disney Star generated about Rs 1800 crores of advertising revenue from the tournament.

A senior media planner, on the condition of anonymity, says that compared to the 2022 T20 World Cup, there has been a drop in viewership for both India and non-India matches. The viewership for non-India matches has dropped by at least 40-45%. “This can be attributed to the drop in overall time spent on TV and the match timings,” she says.

Played in the USA and West Indies, the matches were scheduled at 6 AM IST, an inconvenient time for Indian viewers. However, the India matches were scheduled at 8 PM IST.