Online Gaming Firms Set to Spend Up to Rs. 300 Crores During IPL 2020
Media buyers are estimating that online gaming and fantasy sports companies are going to spend up to Rs. 300 Crores (approx. US$40 million) on advertising during the upcoming Indian Premier League (IPL) season.
The cricket showpiece, which kicks off in the United Arab Emirates on 19 September, is also expected to have an even larger viewership than normal as a live sport-starved nation welcomes back the national sport.
Star India is anticipating advertising on its live sports inventory and streaming site Disney + Hostar to be driven by the most prominent gaming names in India. These include new title sponsor of the IPL, Dream11, plus Mobile Premier League (MPL), MyCircle11, and Ballebaazi. PokerStars India and Ludo King are also expected to leverage the popularity of the tournament to promote their products.
Quoted on Live Mint, Navin Khemka, CEO of MediaCom South Asia, said: "IPL coinciding with the festive season gives these platforms a huge opportunity to promote themselves and strengthen the e-sports and fantasy gaming as a category. Apart from few brands that are already sponsors with team franchisees, I see other players also leveraging IPL through television and digital advertising."
MyCircle11, owned by Games24x7, and boasting brand ambassadors such as Sourav Ganguly, Shane Watson, and Rashid Khan, have committed to serious campaigns.
"My11Circle will strengthen the 'Play with champion' proposition through inventory buys in live IPL matches both on Star Sports network and Disney + Hotstar. Additionally, strategic partnerships with content platforms including CricBuzz, ESPNcricinfo and Lallantop among others will also be done," said Avik Das Kanungo, director of brand and marketing strategy at Games24x7.
Baazi Games-owned fantasy cricket vertical BalleBaazi.com is another that is taking a digital-heavy approach and is in talks with Disney + Hotstar for advertising opportunities.
"Our key strategy will be on acquiring more consumers as during live cricket tournament our platform witnesses a spike in user traction. Ballebaazi has a user base of 4 million and we plan to double this figure by end of the November," commented Varun Ganjoo, marketing director at Baazi Games.
Mobile e-sports platform Mobile Premier League (MPL), title sponsor of IPL team Kolkata Knight Riders, plans to advertise during the tournament to create awareness and user engagement on its platform.
The figures quoted in the Live Mint report are high, but the spends are in line with the growth of online gaming in India which is estimated to touch Rs. 87.8 billion in FY20 with a compounded growth rate of 32% between FY19-24 according to a recent KPMG report.
A separate study by the Federation of Indian Fantasy Sports Operators and KPMG said there are now 90 million fantasy players in the country, with revenue estimated to almost triple to Rs 2,500 crores by FY20.
