As the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024 approaches, Disney Star and Viacom 18 are bracing for a heated contest over advertising revenue, despite ongoing merger discussions between their parent companies. This development follows a non-binding agreement to potentially merge Disney Star and Viacom 18, with both companies currently in the due diligence phase.

What Happened? According to an Economic Times report, Disney Star, set to broadcast the matches on its sports channels, is positioning itself aggressively in the advertising market. The broadcaster is seeking ₹167 crore for co-presenting sponsorships and ₹83 crore for associate sponsorships on standard definition channels.

For high-definition broadcasts, these figures are ₹71 crore and ₹35 crore, respectively. Spot buy rates are pegged at ₹12.8 lakh and ₹5.45 lakh per 10 seconds for SD and HD channels, respectively. Additionally, Disney Star is tailoring advertising options for the southern markets.

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The other side: Viacom 18, continuing its free IPL streaming on JioCinema, aims to broaden its advertiser base by maintaining its advertising rates. In IPL 2023, the company attracted over 500 advertisers.

Viacom 18’s advertising strategy includes a cost per mille (CPM) rate of ₹200 for 10-second mobile video ads and a commercial rate of ₹16 lakh for 10 seconds during live matches on mobile platforms. For connected TV, the rate for a 10-second live match ad is ₹6.5 lakh. The company is also seeking significant outlays for features like Super 4s and Super 6s.

Despite incurring losses in IPL 2023 due to a less vibrant ad market, industry leaders remain optimistic.

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