Off the field, as viewers began switching off their TV sets in anger and frustration, the tournament’s finances slipped, sunk and were subsequently halved the moment India made its way out.
Advertisement revenues for the broadcaster dropped. Companies that had booked advertisement slots in advance and were ready with campaigns – Pepsi’s ‘If you fight it, you win’ was one such – either wanted return of payments or reduction in value or redrafting of agreements.
Tour and travel companies suddenly saw passengers from India and Indian fans globally cancelling flights and hotels to the Caribbean.
Sony Pictures’ then India head (it was Multi Screen Media back then) Kunal Dasgupta said: “It’s a 48-day tournament and if teams like India and Pakistan are bowing out for playing two bad matches, there is something really wrong (with the format and the organizing of the tournament)”.
The shock waves that were felt in terms of TRPs and revenue collection in the aftermath of India’s early exit was really a bolt from the blue.
Cut to 2021. India have exited another ICC World Cup in the first round itself. Fortunately, unlike 2007, when there were 31 matches left to go in the World Cup after India’s exit, in 2021 there are only three matches left now.
The loss that a broadcaster or sponsors / advertisers have to bear – in actuals – will still be limited not finding the Indian team in the semifinals of this tournament, which is just one game. The final, anyway, is factored only once the two best teams end up getting there.
However, the Indian team bowing out early still leaves the stakeholders with the bigger picture to deal with. Broadcasters Star India’s (now owned by Disney) eight-year telecast rights deal with the International Cricket Council (ICC) comes to an end with the 2023 50-over World Cup.
Interestingly, revenues for close to 45% of the payment that the broadcasters were scheduled to make to the governing body depended on the last three World Cups of the rights cycle – the 2020 and 2021 editions of the T20 World Cup and the 2023 50-over edition.
With the pandemic forcing the 2020 edition to be postponed to 2022, the broadcasters had been running a tight ship.
“Remember, in a format like this one (2021 T20 WC), there were only those many marquee games and since the tournament is being held in a neutral country, that vibe was missing,” say those in the know. As many as 16 teams have been part of this edition of the T20 World Cup and the format overall was seen as a very tough one from the beginning. With no quarter-finals scheduled, as many as 8 out of 12 teams were knocked out in the Super 12 stage. Unfortunately, the 2007 champions and the biggest draw in international cricket in terms of viewership and revenue, the Indian team also found itself part of those 8 teams, thanks to two big defeats in their first two matches against Pakistan and New Zealand.
Ten second slots for the India-Pakistan game were reportedly sold at around Rs 25 lac. That, say those crunching numbers, was almost three times the 10-second slot that any other high-profile clash in the World Cup was sold at, including other India matches.
Additionally, the broadcasters roped in close to a dozen sponsors for the India vs Pak game alone, generating revenues slightly in excess of Rs 100 cr.
According to the broadcasters, the viewership numbers clocked for the India vs Pakistan Super 12 match on October 24 was 167 million, which makes it the most watched T20 international of all time. The previous best was the 2016 T20 World Cup semi-final between India and the West Indies, which recorded viewership numbers of 136 million.
“Now, imagine an India vs Pakistan final, had it happened. These numbers would’ve gone through the roof. As it is, this was the costliest game across any sport on Indian television as far as commercial slots are concerned,” industry executives say.
The 2019 50-over World Cup in England – with rain being a constant threat – wasn’t a very profitable edition for the stakeholders of the ICC and much was being expected from this edition of the T20 World Cup.
“Now with India out, potentially, the broadcasters are missing out on a huge opportunity. What if India played the semifinal and final? There was a chance of an India vs Pakistan final too. Technically, the broadcaster would’ve tripled the per-10-second (commercial) rate, had India been in contention,” say those tracking developments.
It’s another reminder of just how big an impact an early India exit can have on a global cricket tournament.
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