Ten Sports, the channel owned by Dubai-based Abdul Rehman Bukhatir, is expected to have already raked in over $100 million (around Rs 450 crore) by selling advertising spots during the upcoming India-Pakistan cricket series.
The channel has sold 30-second spots for the series at an astounding $15,000, which is more than three times the $4,500 SET Max charged for the Indo-Pak World Cup match and double the opening rate of $7,000 charged by ESPN-Star Sports for the recently concluded Indian tour of Australia.
While Ten Sports did not comment on the issue, industry insiders said each day's cricket had 366 such spots.
There would be 20 days of cricket during the Indian tour comprising three Test matches and five one-dayers, they said.
Some of the spots, the sources said, had been acquired for as high as $25,000 by media buyers who did not want to miss the bus.
The sources said apart from some space which had been kept aside for last-minute premium sale, all other advertising spots had been booked already.
"The money has been well spent," says the marketing head of a consumer electronics company, which has paid almost half a crore of rupees for a package of spots and sponsorship for the pre-match, on-lunch and post-match show 'Straight Drive' (a la Extraa Innings of SET Max).
"India goes to Pakistan after 15 years. The relationship between the two countries has not been better in the last five years. And there is the bonus of watching Sachin facing Shoaib Akhtar," he says.
While Bajaj and Samsung are the presenting sponsors for the series, Glaxo SmithklineBeecham, Indian Oil, Hutchison, Hero Honda, LG Electronics and Maruti Udyog, will be associate sponsors.
Samsung is believed to have forked out nearly Rs 15-20 crore while LG Electronics has spent Rs 7 crore.
"In this series, the premium on ad rates compared to others is not a few percentages, but 3-4 times," said Atul Sobti, vice-president (marketing), Hero Honda.
To make up for the premium that will go into the Indo-Pak series, Hero Honda is likely to cut down its spending on other channels.
"The rates for the series are exorbitant and that has increased our expenses compared to the recently concluded series in Australia," said Anil Arora, director (marketing), LG.
The company will launch its new set of commercials featuring the Indian skipper and three other past captains K Srikkanth, Ravi Shastri and Sunil Gavaskar.