Star India Network likely lost Rs 200 cr for India's early exit from T20 cricket world

As the ICC Men's T20 Cricket World Cup draws to a close today, broadcaster Star India Network is likely to have lost around Rs 200 crore in ad revenue due to India's exit from the tournament in the qualifying stage.

Its Star Sports Network would have estimated to rake in Rs 900 crore -Rs 1,200 crore by airing ads on television during the popular month-long tournament happening in UAE. The network's OTT platform Disney+ Hotstar would have made around Rs 250 crore, according to industry insiders.

Media veteran Madan Mohapatra estimates the network would have lost out on 15-20% opportunity revenue for its sports channels because of India's exit. The impact essentially is because of two matches India could have played which would have drawn the maximum viewership - one semi-final and the final.

Typically, broadcasters book 80-85% of the ad slots for a cricket tournament in advance. The TV channel leaves the rest open so that they can decide to hike the rates for crucial stages depending on how the tournament shapes up. Sometimes, even a new set of advertisers may come in.

In this case, the broadcaster loses out on the opportunity to jack up spot rates, which was around Rs 25 lakh for 10 seconds for the India-Pakistan match at the early stage of the tournament. Had the two teams, one of the most intense cricket rivalries, clashed in the finals the broadcaster would have made at least Rs 35 lakh for 10 seconds of ads, according to people in the know.

From the advertisers' point of view, it is a viewership loss of 40-50% for those two matches. But all brands are cognisant that if India goes to the final it will be a jackpot, if not there will be a hit on their ratings, Mohapatra said.

Besides, he said, given that cricket cuts across India in a way that no other programming does, brands can expect a viewership comparable to any other programming even without India in the playing in the finals.