10 days to go, Zee's cricket league hits a hurdle

Mumbai: There is just 10 days left for the Indian Cricket League to kick off. But Essel Group's maiden attempt at league cricket is not looking too good right now. The ICL's decision to telecast its matches on Zee Sports, instead of Ten Sports, isn't going down too well with advertisers.

While some advertisers have already dropped out, others are renegotiating. ICL's marketing team is, however, still trying to rope in sponsors for the teams and grounds.

Media buyers say one of the problems is that ICL will air the 15-day Twenty20 Tournament only on Zee Sports. While it’s clear that the idea is to boost Zee Sports, the fact that the channel is dogged by distribution problems makes Ten Sports, its sister channel, a far more attractive deal.

“It will definitely be on Zee Sports, because that is the flagship sports channel of Zee Network. We haven't exactly figured out what we will do with Ten Sports, whether it is going to have the matches live or just as highlights. But it will definitely be on Zee Sports," the Vice-President of Marketing for ICL, Gaurav Seth, said.

Advertisers and media planners say that a solo run of the matches on Zee Sports would bring down the on-air prices of the spots by as much as 60 per cent. Initially, the ICL was selling a Ten Sports and Zee Sports combine at Rs 40,000 for a 10-second spot, but in the current scenario, the rates have plummeted to as low as Rs 10,000 for 20 seconds, industry sources say.

Some advertisers find even this rate too high for a channel that reaches only 10 per cent of C&S homes.

The MD of India - West & South, Starcom Worldwide, Manish Porwal, says most advertisers are weary of how far this tournament will take them and this is adversely impacting Zee's selling bid.

"I am sure they would have reasons for not showing the matches on Ten Sports but at least they would have got back some advertiser confidence which has gone down further,” he says.

Industry sources say the ICL may have to leverage Zee's clout and offer advertisers a network deal to save face. Last-minute negotiations are still on between ICL and media planners for on-air deals. But the real test will be to rope in the team and ground sponsors before November 30.