IPL 2020 TV ad inventory is a complete sell-out; Digital set to see 3-4X growth

Disney-Star India has sold 128 per cent of the ad inventory on TV for the broadcast of the 13th edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL), highly placed sources close to the development have confirmed to Adgully. It has signed on Dream11, PhonePe, Amazon and BYJU’s as Co-Presenting sponsors and Coca Cola, Polycab, United Spirits, Kamala Pasand, RummyCircle, Gillette, Mondelez, ITC, AFMI and Dailyhunt.

 Also read:  Star India signs Amazon, PhonePe and Dream11 for IPL 2020

Last year, Hotstar had sold most of the tournament inventory, including digital sponsorships, in a combined package deal. This year, there is less ad inventory on Disney+ Hotstar, besides the VOD service was unable to renew key digital distribution partnerships from last year like its association with Jio Platforms that exposed it to a potential 400 million viewers. What’s more, Disney+ Hotstar will air the livestream of the tournament behind a paywall and viewers will only be able to watch 5 minutes of the live feed before being prompted to subscribe.

In earnings call for the quarter ended June 2020, The Walt Disney Company reported that Disney+ Hotstar had 8.63 million subscribers in India. According to media pundits, this would mean that at best not more than 30-40 million viewers would be exposed to the tournament via its digital platforms. Compare this to last year, where a total of 300 million viewers logged into Hotstar to watch the 12th edition of the tournament.

A senior industry source informed Adgully that despite the less inventory, digital ad spends on IPL 2020 is set to see a growth of at least 3-4 times over last year. With 128 per cent of the TV ad inventory sold, the excess is most likely to see a diversion from TV to digital this year.

Meanwhile, it is learnt that there is a price increase of as much as 20 per cent in Disney+ Hotstar IPL inventory, which will be implemented for premium advertisers coming onboard after September 19, 2020.

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