Potential ad spend of around Rs 30,000-40,000 crore expected during this festive season

Sports will be crucial in leading ad spends in the 2023 great Indian festive period or the Fifth Quarter, as it is informally known. Around 40-45 percent of the total ad spends annually occur during the festive period. A potential spend of around Rs 30,000-40,000 crore is expected during this festive season. Increased spending by FMCG companies and auto and consumer discretionary firms will add to the expenditure.

R Venkatasubramanian, President-Investments, Havas Media India, and Managing Director - Havas Play said, "World Cup is going to spread across 42 play days with 48 matches starting Oct’23 which will cover the entire festive period whereas last year the festive season did not have any major cricket/sports tournaments. Therefore, we are extremely bullish that this year’s festive season will be much bigger as the topmost impact live event “World CUP 2023” is being hosted by India. We estimate that Adex will approximately grow by 6 percent to 8 percent on the back of cricket during the festive period in 2023."

2023 will be another landmark year for the Indian sports industry due to the renewal of IPL sponsorships post the 2023 season, BCCI Home Series Title & Central Sponsorship along with team India sponsorship, BCCI Home Series Media Rights, and the inaugural season of the Women's Premier League (WPL) in March 2023. Two big international racing events, Formula E & Moto GP, are to be held in India for the first time in 2023, added Venkatasubramanian.

Industry experts estimate sports advertising is likely to contribute 12-13 percent of India’s total advertising expenditure this year. With the rise of new sports and leagues alongside the unparalleled popularity of cricket, brands have unprecedented opportunities to connect with fans through sports.

As per Venkatasubramanian, the overall sports spend is expected to reach 16,000 crores in 2023 and spends are almost equal in both half with The Indian Premier League contributed the major revenue by adding two new franchises – Gujarat Titans and Lucknow Super Giants, and a full house of central sponsorship) being in H1 and Asia Cup, Commonwealth games , World Cup, PKL and emerging sports like Khoko in H2 of 2023. On the other side sponsorships gathering immense momentum, live sports will continue to have high tractions and will stand as monetizable ones, proving it to be a promising sector for media investment. According to the industry sources, out of the 500 plus brand endorsement deals, around 80 percent to 85 percent of the total brand endorsement value has come from cricketers.

In July, Storyboard18 reported that with Hotstar to stream the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup 2023 (October-November) for small brands that may not have the budgets to afford cricket, it would now be accessible. Amol Dighe, CEO of investments & business development at Madison Media, told Storyboard18 that the World Cup will drive growth in H2. “This H2, we have the Asia Cup and the 50-over World Cup, which will give a significant boost to spending. The World Cup is happening in India and will cover Indian prime time. More importantly, the World Cup is happening right in the middle of the festive season, which will be an opportunity for brands to capitalise on,” Dighe said.

As per Dighe, events such as the World Cup boost the entire media ecosystem and companies can leverage the India-Pakistan games. Print, OOH and digital also benefit as companies seek to leverage cricket and build their brands. Dighe said that online gaming, which faces higher GST, will be under stress to spend.

Mohit Joshi, CEO of Havas Media Network India told us about the pressure on funding and the focus on profitability and cited them as reasons for new-age clients, edtech, fintech, gaming and crypto companies not to be as active during festive period as they were a year earlier.

The FICCI-EY 2023 report on media and entertainment revealed that in 2022, the share of digital in total advertising revenue of Rs 1,04,900 crore stood at 47.5 percent, or Rs 49,900 crore, while TV's share stood at 30 percent, or Rs 31,800 crore.

Experts suggest that digital is expected to see higher ad spends during the festive period compared to TV. This trend is driven by the increasing shift in consumer behaviour towards digital platforms.

Raghav Bagai, co-founder of Sociowash told Moneycontrol that digital's share in ad spends is expected to reach 56 percent in 2023. 60-70 percent of sports consumption is on digital these days. Digital will come out to be the frontrunner this season, especially because of the abundance of inventory available.

Arshad Shawl, founder of Alliance Advertising, said, "With the ICC World Cup back in India after 12 years will definitely ignite a new excitement and optimism. Cricket is the only platform that cuts across a diverse age group from kids to 60+ consumers and from masses to classes as well. From a platform perspective, cricket always had triggered an emotional affinity with the viewers and proven evidence of several successful brands built on the back of cricket only. We forecast at least 15 percent growth on the back of ICC World Cup with categories like Auto, Financial services, FMCG, Infrastructure, Cement, Steel, Durables, Mobile Phones and Ecommerce among others driving the growth. "