IT’S NEO, IT’S NOW!

And the good start of the ODI tournament reflects that the channel’s efforts have worked. As per aMap, the fourth India-Australia ODI got a TRP of 2. Neo Sports’ Marketing Head Abhishek Verma, says, “We are very happy with the initial response to the tournament. And these are aMap ratings… The TAM ratings for cricket matches are generally double of that of aMap. Moreover, as it is becoming a close fight for the series we are expecting an average TAM ratings of 8-9 points for the entire tournament. The advertisers’ response to the tournament has also been good. Neo Sports got eight sponsors on board, including brands like Hero Honda, Tata DoCoMo, Gillete et al. In fact, DoCoMo has joined in as a sponsor for the entire six month season on Neo cricket The ad rates are Rs.3.5 lakh for a 10-second slot for bulk buyers and for usual buyers, it is Rs.4 lakh. This is at-par with the much hyped IPL 2 ad-rates. When quizzed about the warm response from advertisers for the Hero Honda Cup despite the recent bad performance of cricketing events on TV, a media planner said, “Any India playing cricket attracts eyeballs. That’s why bilateral tournaments with India get a very high rating and wider reach, compared to a tournament or a Twenty20 cricket (excluding IPL). This is because there is no fear of India getting knocked out. And that’s why advertisers are excited about the India-Australia series.” Neo cricket is expecting Rs.150 crore revenues from the ongoing HH Cup alone. For the six month long season the channel expects ad revenues approximating to Rs.500-600 crore. This figure is close to 40% of the entire advertising spend on cricket in a year (Rs.1300-1500 crore).

But the question is with channels like ESPN (seasoned in sports broadcasting globally) and SETMAX (that has some of the hottest cricket properties), will a two year-old channel like Neo cricket be able to make a space for itself? On the face of it, this may look like a herculean task, but Neo has been doing well on the back of the telecast rights for all international and domestic cricket played in India. In fact, the channel became the most watched sports channel in 2008, with a market share of almost 28%.

And keeping in mind India’s fascination for cricket (at least when the Men in Blue are around), Neo is sitting on a gold mine... at least till it owns those telecast rights!

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Source : IIPM Editorial, 2010.

An Initiative of IIPM, Malay Chaudhuri and Arindam chaudhuri (Renowned Management Guru and Economist).

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