MUMBAI: As the suspension of the Indian Premier League (IPL) comes to an end today, the ambiguity around the cash-rich tournament has increased amid the extension of nation-wide lockdown due to the COVID-19 till 3 May. This will heavily impact the sponsors, advertisers, and Star India, the official broadcaster.

India’s biggest cricketing event was supposed to start from 29 March, but got suspended till 15 April. As per media reports, sources within the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) say that IPL is likely to be suspended for an indefinite period with the government’s decision to continue the lockdown. BCCI, being optimistic to host the game soon, is yet to come out with an official statement on its future.

“With the delay in IPL, the brands are likely to re-look their advertising strategy,” says DigitalKites senior vice president Amit Lall. “I don’t believe advertisers will wait till the year-end, provided IPL gets scheduled in August and October; they may park some budget for the tournament but will also re-strategise themselves for other available properties to garner eyeballs for their brand.”

Lall adds that the majority of brands associated with the IPL allot at least 60-70 per cent of their spends on the game. But the pandemic could induce brands to halve their original spend.

“Most of the official sponsors associated with the IPL are international brands and they function according to a calendar year from January to December, unlike Indian companies. With IPL being scheduled in the year-end, it would impact the brands to get estimated numbers,” says Lall.

It’s expected that the sponsors may lose at least Rs 1200 crore over the uncertainty around the IPL due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The sponsorship money includes Rs 600 crore in on-ground and Rs 500 crore through team sponsorships, an Economic Times report had said.

On a similar line, Dentsu Aegis Network India chief executive officer Anand Bhadkamkar says: “It’s more likely that brand spend would be lesser as the event is likely to be rescheduled to the year-end. Since the situation has become so grim, the overall advertising spends, eventually, have come down this year due to the COVID-19 situation.”

The October-December quarter is also the festive season when brands make their highest spends of the year during back-to-back festivals. If IPL coincides with this period, brands can multiply their impact using the property.

The saving grace for the IPL is that despite ad spends likely to be lower than usual, its brand value will remain intact and the interest around it won’t go away being the most premium property in the country, believes Bhadkamkar.

He adds, “We may come out of the situation soon, but due to large gatherings it’s possible that the virus may resurface, as there is no vaccine available yet. The government may ask people to follow social distancing after the lockdown ends and this may impact the footfalls of the stand audience.”

Echoing the same, Initiative chief executive officer Vaishali Verma points out that post June, many brands are likely to stand on their feet again. However, sectors such as FMCG and personal care are doing good even during the crisis.

She adds, “A lot of money is involved with the domestic cricketing event and things may definitely improve after the IPL is organised." She expects that at least 20-25 per cent of revenue may be lost with the tournament taking time to be organised.

RunAdam managing director and chief executive officer Yeragaselvan Kumarasamy believes, "IPL 2020 has to happen this year, as it’s not just only about cricket, but multiple businesses are also growing with it and given the current situation, we need something like IPL to re-boost the economy.” He believes August is a good alternative time for this year’s edition.

The re-scheduling of IPL may impact other international cricketing events such as Asia Cup, England homes series which are slated in August. It will also impact the availability of foreign players who have other commitments in other parts of the year. “We, earlier, have organised the game without some foreign players, who were not able to play. Hence, missing out on a few players from two-three countries won’t impact the tournament much,” Kumarasamy says.

IPL has been the talk of the town not only for advertisers, sponsors, broadcasters and organisers, but also for every cricket enthusiastic in the country. Estimates are that close to $1.5 billion is riding behind the IPL in terms of advertising, sponsorships and ticket sales.