KOLKATA: 2020 was a tough year for broadcasters as major live sports events were cancelled. Cricket fever resumed in India with the Indian Premier League (IPL) returning in September after a six month hiatus, which helped rights-holder Star India garner Rs 3,000 crore in advertising revenues, including the digital segment.

According to a Moneycontrol report, the broadcaster saw 100 new advertisers despite the economic slowdown. Hence, it is expected that advertisers will be upbeat about IPL 2021 as well.

While last year Rs 12.6- 12.7 lakh was charged for a 10 second ad spot on TV, Star India is charging Rs 14 lakh for a slot of the same duration this year. The network has already sold out most of the ad inventory this year. Experts project that Star India's TV segment will likely see a 15 per cent jump in ad revenues from IPL 14.

On the other hand, Disney+Hotstar is charging a 20-25 per cent premium for ad rates. CPMs (cost per mille) are in the range of Rs 200-350 depending on the type of advertisements. The streaming service has priced a 10-second spot at Rs 180. BFSI, telecom, d2c platforms, e-commerce platforms and FMCG brands are interested in the slots this year too. Last year, the streamer earned around Rs 400 crore from ad revenues, up from around Rs 250 crore in 2019.

Disney+Hotstar has already signed 10 sponsors for this year's tournament. Dream11 is the co-presenting sponsor, Upstox and Vimal Pan Masala are the co-powered by sponsors. Phone Pe, Association of Mutual Funds in India (AMFI), Unacademy, Pharmeasy, Livspace, Swiggy, and Parle Agro have come on board as associate sponsors.

The network is already raking in the moolah in terms of TV advertisers. Dream11, Byju’s, Phone Pe and Just Dial have signed as co-presenting partners of the league, while Chinese handset manufacturer Vivo has returned as the title sponsor this year.