WTC Final: Star Sports strikes big deal for the title clash in Southampton
The official broadcaster of the match in the Indian sub-continent, Star Sports has struck a big deal for the ICC World Test Championship (WTC) final in Southampton. India will lock horns with New Zealand in the title clash, starting June 18.
As per reports, Star Sports has signed 15+ advertisers for the final that includes the likes of Byjus, Dream 11, Cars24, ThumsUp, Skoda, MRF, Cred, PolicyBazaar, Pharmeasy, PaisaBazaar, Niyo Solutions, and Ultratech.
As per reports in E4M, the sponsors are paying Rs 2.5 lakh per 10 seconds while spot buyers are spending Rs 2.8 lakh per 10 seconds for the WTC final. The rate of inventory is almost 50% more than what a normal India bilateral Test is sold for.
The broadcaster could end up with an estimated revenue of INR 80-85 crore if all the ad spots over 5 days are consumed in the WTC final. Incidentally, each India Test match as per Star Network deal with BCCI is worth INR 52 Cr.
“The World Test Championship is a marquee property for Star India, and the recent promotional film launch just adds to the anticipation of the fans and advertisers alike. The opportunity of India being throned as the World Champion and being the first team in the World to win across all formats has attracted advertisers across categories. Our broadcast across five languages at prime time is set to captivate the heart of every fan and leverage the high appeal of the country to see how India fares in this historic face-off,” Star Sports EVP Anil Jayaraj was quoted by Exchange4Media.
Star Sports plans mega broadcast plan for WTC final
The broadcaster plans to telecast the WTC final between India and the Black Caps in multiple languages. This will be the first time a Test match will be aired in multiple languages on the platform.
They have decided to air the title clash in five languages - Hindi, English, Tamil, Telugu, and Kannada in Star Sports network and Disney+Hotstar platform.
The stage is set for a power-packed WTC final and fans are eagerly waiting for the action to begin.