MUMBAI: The fabulous performance by the Indians in the away cricket test series against Australia which was telecast on the Sony Entertainment sports channels is likely to benefit Star Sports during the domestic tour of India by the English cricket team. The two-month long visit by Joe Root and his men is scheduled to commence with a test at the MA Chidambaram stadium in Chennai on 5 February.

Media reports have emerged that Disney Star India – which has the telecast rights to Indian domestic cricket —  is going to pocket between Rs 450-500 crore in ad revenues over the four tests, five T-20s and three one days that the teams will play. The broadcast network will be airing the matches across its sports channels and its streaming service Disney + Hotstar with commentary being available in Hindi, English, Tamil, Telugu and Kannada.

Star already has a title sponsor on board in PayTM with the tournament being branded as the PayTM Test Series in promos which have a tinge of the comic about them and feature Indian actor Boman Irani as a hotel manager where the English team is to be residing, The tagline #IndiaTaiyarHai of the promo obviously refers to the readiness of the Indian cricket team to do battle with the English on the pitch as well as the preparedness of the BCCI to host the first ever visiting test team since the pandemic began last year.

There are no surprises about the product categories that have shown interest in signing up with Star for the other sponsorships it has on offer: gaming, fantasy league, telcos, edtech, ecommerce, insurance and financial services. Observers have pointed out that FCT has been priced at between Rs 650,000 and Rs 800,000 per 10 seconds and most of it has been sold out already.

“England is touring at a very opportune time just as the virus seems to be coming under control in India,  vaccination against Covid2019 is gathering pace, and there are good signs of consumer confidence going up and the economy getting into a better zone,” says a media observer. “While offices have opened up, they have done so partially, so people are still working from home. If the IPL viewership numbers are any indication, a charged up as hell Indian side should set new viewership records over the next two months.”