India-Pakistan clash sends ad rates soaring 25%

MUMBAI: With arch-rivals India and Pakistan set to face off in the T20 World Cup in Colombo on Sunday, ad rates for the match have soared. Companies are rushing to book slots to place their brands and cash-in on the huge viewership the game is likely to attract.

Ad rates for a 10-second TV slot are now selling in the range of about Rs 30-40 lakh which otherwise usually costs between Rs 20-25 lakh for major World Cup matches, industry experts tracking the space said. "Rates for last minute inventory have jumped by at least 20%-25%. Every second of ad slots for the match will be taken," said senior sports analyst and commentator Neeraj Jha, projecting broadcaster JioStar to rake in ad revenues of about Rs 2,000 crore from the tournament.




Ad rates for a 10-second slot on digital (JioHotstar) have spiked to around Rs 15-20 lakh. "Companies want to own the ad space and money is not something they are thinking about. The viewership will be so large that firms do not want to miss out on the opportunity. There's a lot of interest from auto, FMCG, financial services and real estate companies," said Kushal Sanghvi, director at global marketing firm Komerz. The industry is equating ad rates for the Indo-Pak match to the price of gold and silver, said Sanghvi.

JioStar did not share specific details of the advertisers for the India-Pakistan match but said that Emirates, OpenAI, Birla Opus, Rapido, Amul, Mahindra & Mahindra Auto, Hyundai, Britannia and General Insurance Council are among companies that are advertising in the World Cup.

Air ticket prices shoot up

Indian cricket fans are headed to the Sri Lankan capital, taking prices of air tickets to Colombo and hotel fares in the city higher. Airfares to the city are trending significantly higher than non-event travel periods, particularly on high demand routes from major Indian metros, said Rikant Pittie, CEO and co-founder of EaseMyTrip. "On select dates, round-trip fares have risen sharply compared to regular averages, with prices increasing by as much as 45%-50% further closer to departure. This trend reflects concentrated travel demand typically seen when Team India plays overseas matches in nearby destinations," Pittie said. MakeMyTrip has seen bookings for Colombo for the weekend of Feb 15 doubling over the past three days compared to the average booking levels.

"Bookings to Colombo have surged by nearly 65% especially around the marquee fixture like the India-Pakistan match, helped by factors such as visa-free access and the ease of planning short-haul international gateways," said Manjari Singhal, chief growth and business officer at Cleartrip, adding that the demand is largely being led by Indian fans travelling out from major metro cities.

Hotel search volumes and bookings in Colombo have also increased substantially around the match window, with centrally located four and five-star hotels recording the strongest demand. For premium properties, average room rates are currently around 20%-25% higher than typical seasonal levels, EaseMyTrip said.