HUL not interested in IPL and in world cup

Hyundai Motor India Ltd will sponsor the telecast of the Indian Premier League (IPL) season 4, but it came close to losing out on account of the league’s sponsorship guidelines.

According to these, the on-ground sponsor of the league’s popular Twenty20 matches has first right of refusal for television rights. Volkswagen Group Sales India Pvt. Ltd, Hyundai’s rival, is the on-ground sponsor.

In 2008, Hyundai struck a one-year deal to be the presenting sponsor of the telecast on SET MAX, owned by Multi Screen Media Pvt. Ltd (MMPL). After that, they were signed on as associate sponsors, but the Volkswagen deal would have rendered this invalid.

It retains the sponsorship of the telecast because Volkswagen has refused to do so. Rohit Gupta, president, network sales, Multi Screen Media, said that his company had offered the on-air sponsorship to Volkswagen, but “since they’ve not got back and would prefer spot-buys instead, Hyundai retains the sponsorship”.

A Hyundai spokesperson declined to comment.

“The spot-buying decision during IPL is still under discussion and we cannot confirm anything at this point in time,” said the spokesperson for Volkswagen.

Gupta added that almost 70% of the advertising inventory for IPL has been sold by MMPL with rates reaching Rs.5.5 lakh for a 10-second spot in some cases. Another MMPL executive who did not want to be identified claimed Hyundai paid Rs.30 crore for sponsoring the telecast.

Meanwhile, Hindustan Unilever Ltd (HUL), one of the country’s largest advertisers has opted to stay out of both IPL and the ICC Cricket World Cup that starts on 19 February. An executive at ESPN, which has the rights to telecast the World Cup, and who did not want to be identified claimed HUL had not bought any air time. Gupta said the company had not bought any time on his channel either and said it could reflect a change in the company’s strategy. HUL was active during the past two seasons of IPL. A spokesperson for the company declined comment on the issue.

Sam Balsara, chairman and managing director, Madison Group, said that consumer product companies are known to invest in lower cost per (television) rating point properties and that cricket is an expensive buy. “But with so much of cricket all year around, I wonder how any large advertiser can buy inventory without taking cricket.”

Meanwhile, an executive at a general entertainment channel who did not want to be identified said that air time during cricket matches, apart from being expensive, comes with attached risks (such as India losing early).

Clarifying that he had no idea what prompted HUL’s decision, he said that it’s possible that more advertisers follow the company’s approach. “Soaps on general entertainment channels don’t come with the kind of risk that cricket does.”