World Cup Cricket Ads: Top Global Brands Tap Indian Consumers, Spend $3,600 Per Second

India is hosting the tournament that begins on October 5 and runs through mid-November

The world cup guarantees sponsors more than a billion viewers across the world from Europe to Oceania. But it's consumers in India who are the biggest prize, particularly for foreign brands.

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International companies are shelling out millions of dollars to get their names seen during the Cricket World Cup in India, according to a report by news agency Bloomberg. The ICC event represents an opportune moment for top global brands to tap into the cricket-crazy nation of 1.4 billion people. India is hosting the tournament that begins on October 5 and runs through mid-November. The world cup guarantees sponsors more than a billion viewers across the world from Europe to Oceania. But it's consumers in India who are the biggest prize, particularly for foreign brands, said Madan Sabnavis, chief economist at Bank of Baroda.

According to the report, brands are likely to spend about Rs 2,000 crore ($240 million) in advertisement spots on streaming platforms during the tournament, noted Jehil Thakkar, a partner at Deloitte India. A 10-second advertising slot during matches costs up to Rs 3 lakh, a 40 per cent increase compared to the last World Cup in 2019, he said. "Demand for eyeballs is really strong," Thakkar added.

Amid an economic slump in China and its geopolitical tensions with Western countries, India's thriving consumer market is emerging as a sweet spot for global firms looking for growth. India is expected to drive a fifth of world economic expansion in the next decade and become a $10 trillion economy by 2035, according to some estimates.

Disney Star, which holds the exclusive TV broadcast rights for the World Cup in India, said in a statement on Wednesday that it is partnering with 26 sponsors, including Booking.com BV and liquor company Diageo Plc.

Cricket is by far the most popular sport in India, and attracts more than $1.5 billion in sponsorship and media spend a year, according to research from Jefferies, representing 85 per cent of all such sports-related spending. "Cricket has less fanfare globally as compared to other sports like soccer,” said Sabnavis, “but the kind of frenzy you witness in India around cricket is not present elsewhere."

Among the brands that are paying for airtime during the World Cup are large corporate names such as Coca-Cola Co., Alphabet Inc.’s Google Pay, and Unilever Plc’s India unit Hindustan Unilever Ltd., while the ICC’s list of official partners includes Saudi Aramco, Emirates and Nissan Motor Co. The roster of brands on display shows a shift back to more traditional sectors such as consumer goods, automobiles and phones, said Thakker, as education technology and online betting firms that were once major sponsors cut back on spending amid debt and regulatory concerns.