Television ad slots sold out for Wimbledon

Wimbledon viewership in India has been increasing progressively in the last eight years

ESPN Star, the official broadcaster for Wimbledon, have sold out their ad spots for the tournament. While several high-end brands like Rolex, Thai Airways, Nokia and IBM are among the top nine sponsors, six other sponsors such as Red Bull, Pernod Ricard and Renault India have also been roped in.

Sanjay Kailash, Executive Vice-President of ESPN Software India Pvt, told PTI that this has been the common scenario for the past eight years.

However, he refused to comment when asked about the amount revenue the company will accrue from the advertisements. But, he did reveal that the rates have gone up by 5 to 10 percent, compared to last year. The broadcasters are charging Rs 20,000-Rs 25,000 for a 10-second spot.

“There will be 150 hours of live matches, which is more than 25 per cent from last year. The number of different live matches will also increase,” he said when asked to quantify the tournament’s coverage this year.

Wimbledon viewership in India last year was about $20-25 million.

In an effort to widen their promotion campaign, the broadcasters are pulling all stops on different channels, also marketing the Championships during the ICC Champions Trophy.

Source: MSN sports