Sports
Sportel serves an ace in Singapore
The global sports media circus pitched its tent in Asia-Pacific — and the numbers stacked up
SINGAPORE: Sportel’s much-trumpeted return to Singapore didn’t disappoint. The two-day shindig at Orchard Hotel Singapore drew 370 participants from 220-odd companies across 35 countries — proof, if any were needed, that the Asia-Pacific sports media market is no longer a sideshow but very much the main event.
Held on 24-25 March, Sportel Asia brought the usual glorious scrum of broadcasters, rights holders, tech merchants and media types under one roof. The turnout skewed usefully commercial: roughly a third of attendees were content buyers, another third rights holders — the sort of ratio that keeps deal-makers in the room and lawyers busy afterwards.
The geographic split told its own story. Some 55 per cent of participants flew in from Asia-Pacific and the Middle East, with the remaining 45 per cent making the journey from Europe and the Americas. Singapore, sitting neatly at the crossroads of both worlds, did exactly what it says on the tin.
The buyers’ roster read like a who’s who of regional broadcasting muscle — Astro, beIN Sports APAC, Bilibili, Coupang Play, DAZN Japan, Fox Sports Australia, Stan Sport and a clutch of telcos among them. Whether they left with deals signed or merely appetites whetted, the conditions were ripe.
Off the exhibition floor, the conference programme chewed over the big questions: how European leagues crack the APAC market, the march of generative AI and cloud production, the thorny business of streaming piracy, and the quietly booming world of women’s sport in Singapore. Meaty stuff, served without too much waffle.
The event’s Pitch Perfect innovation contest handed five plucky startups — Phygital International, Bimovin, S.O. Casual Creative, Appear and Layer Cake — their moment in the spotlight. Layer Cake’s Padraig O’Donovan walked away with the prize: a full-access pass to Sportel Monaco in October, where the real heavy hitters gather.
Agnès Marsan, executive director of Sportel Asia, called Singapore “a strategic gateway” — which is diplomat-speak for: it worked rather well.
The flagship Sportel Monaco follows on 19-21 October. The warm-up act has concluded. Now for the main match.
Sports
IPL 19 TV Ad Volumes Rise 10 per cent Despite Fewer Brands
Google storms top spot as e-com services and mouth fresheners lead charge in four-match clash with IPL 18.
MUMBAI: Google has bowled a perfect googly in the IPL 19 ad arena while the batsmen chased sixes on the field, the search giant has quietly smashed the biggest boundary of all, claiming 12.67 per cent of commercial airtime and leaving rivals gasping. Overall television ad volumes for the four live matches of IPL 19 hit an indexed 109.94 compared with IPL 18’s baseline of 100, a crisp 9.94 per cent jump that proves advertisers still see cricket’s biggest stage as the ultimate pitch. Yet the numbers tell a more nuanced tale. Categories slimmed from 47 to 40 (a 14.9 per cent drop) and advertisers shrank from 58 to 43 (down 25.9 per cent), suggesting a leaner, meaner battle where the survivors are spending smarter.
The new pecking order makes for fascinating reading. In IPL 19, Ecom-Other Services surged to the summit with 13.78 per cent share, nudging out perennial favourite Mouth Fresheners (13.57 per cent). Air Conditioners (5.94 per cent), Corporate-Financial Institutes (5.69 per cent) and Paints (5.23 per cent) rounded out the top five, elbowing aside last season’s heavy hitters. Back in IPL 18, Mouth Fresheners led at 10.73 per cent, followed by Ecom-Gaming (10.62 per cent), Cellular Phones-Smart Phones (7.83 per cent), Biscuits (7.66 per cent) and Cars (6.60 per cent).
On the advertiser leaderboard, Google’s 12.67 per cent dominance is unassailable. Reliance Consumer Products (7.28 per cent) took silver, Havells India (5.94 per cent) bronze, while Vishnu Packaging (5.56 per cent) and K P Pan Foods (4.80 per cent) completed the top five. Contrast that with IPL 18, where Parle Biscuits (7.66 per cent) topped the chart, followed by Vishnu Packaging (5.92 per cent), Apple Computer India (5.52 per cent), Reliance Consumer Products (5.31 per cent) and Billion Brains Garage Ventures (4.52 per cent).
Fresh blood has clearly refreshed the mix. Nine entirely new categories and a whopping 45 new brands entered the fray. Among the debutants making an instant splash: Chocolates, Laptops/Notebooks, Range of Hair Care, Corporate-Pharma/Healthcare and Footwear. Stand-out new brands include Google Search Engine, Google Gemini, Lloyd Designer AC, Cadbury’s Dairy Milk Chocolate, Hero Splendor Plus Range and Joy Hello Sun Sunblock Anti-Tan Lotion, proof that even the most unexpected players are now eyeing cricket’s captive millions.
Conversely, 16 categories sat out IPL 19, including former stalwarts Ecom-Gaming, Cellular Phones-Smart Phones, Biscuits, Airlines and Fans. The message is clear: the ad economy is evolving faster than a T20 run-chase.
So while the on-field drama delivers its usual thrills, the commercial breaks are delivering something even more compelling, a masterclass in how to turn 22 yards of grass into serious brand territory. IPL 19 has shown that when the right mix of innovation and investment meets cricket fever, the ad scoreboard lights up in ways even the most optimistic analysts might not have predicted.
