MUMBAI: ESPN Star Sports has completely sold out on its inventory and could earn advertising revenue of Rs 50 million from the Wimbledon tournament.

Brands like Rolex, Tourism Authority of Thailand, Malaysia Tourism Board, Perfetti, Samsung, Colgate Palmolive, Vodafone, Renault Nissan, IBM, Nokia, Reliance Netconnect, Parle Agro, Pernod Ricard (Seagram) and MetLife have bought airtime on the live telecast of the Wimbledon.

The main pull for advertisers to associate with the event is the fact that it has a following among male SEC ABC TG.

According to a senior media buying executive, ESS could end up with Rs 50 million from the event. The executive says that advertisers are forking out between Rs 15,000-25,000 for buying airtime on the property as Wimbledon is the biggest Tennis championship.

The event will be covered on Star Sports and in high definition on ESPN HD, with up to 140 hours of live coverage on both the channels.

“Tennis has been quite a popular sport among its target audience in India and Wimbledon has been one of the most followed tournaments for a long time. I think we are seeing the reflection in TV ratings as well and given the fact that it’s a two-week long tournament, played during prime time for India, it’s a viable opportunity for marketers,” says Spatial Access CEO Nikhil Rangnekar.

Agrees VivaKi Exchange CEO Mona Jain, “Even though the hype around Wimbledon isn’t the same as it used to be before, it continues to be the biggest Tennis property. Tennis has its own following in India and offers good opportunity for brands that are looking to reach out to specific target audience.”

Neo Sports had earned an estimated advertising revenue of Rs 45 million from the recently concluded French Open. The channel had roped in Reliance 3G, Coca-Cola, Renault, Kerala Tourism and Vinni Pharmaceuticals as broadcast sponsors.