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ESS eyes Rs 550 million from Olympics
MUMBAI: ESPN Star Sports, the official broadcaster of 2012 London Olympics in India, is targeting advertising revenue of Rs 550 million from the 16-day event which will be held from 28 July to 12 August with the opening ceremony on 27 July.
The sportscaster has roped in Tata DoCoMo as co-presenting sponsor while Airtel Digital TV has come on board as the associate sponsor, say sources.
ESS is in advanced stage of negotiations with several other advertisers including the likes of Hero MotoCorp and Samsung, which is a global Olympic sponsor.
ESS is looking at a total of eight sponsors for the event with two co-presenting and six associate sponsors. The sportscaster is betting big on advertisers from beverages, telecom, automobile, and insurance sectors.
ESS is asking Rs 70-85 million for co-presenting sponsors and Rs 60-65 million from associate sponsors, according to a top executive at a media buying agency.
“ESS is expected to make Rs 500-550 million from Olympics,” said a source.
ESPN Software India senior director business development and event management group Rathindra Basu admits that selling sponsorships has been a challenging task as there is no previous viewership data to support sales pitch.
“The challenge that we realised in the sales process was that we had no historical data in terms of viewership in the C&S space. Public broadcaster DD did show Olympics four years ago but there was no private broadcaster last time around,” Basu avers.
What can work in ESS‘ favour is that there is no cricket featuring Indian team during Olympics. The interest level in London Olympics is also expected to be higher as many Indian athletes across disciplines have qualified for the event.
“Brands who have traditionally been on sports are keen to associate with the event as Olympics typically attract viewership from youth segment particularly the male audience,” the executive from the media agency said.
“ESS is offering a full three and a half months of window to sponsors starting with pre-event programming, promotions on ESS channels to the live broadcast of the event and highlights besides logo presence and other integrations. So the return on investment for Olympics works out well,” she further reveals.
Agrees Basu, “With huge expectations from Indian contingent this year coupled with the most complete and comprehensive presentation of the Games on our bouquet, we expect London Olympics to be a huge draw in India.”
According to Vivaki Exchange CEO Mona Jain, the viewership of Olympics has seen improvement and it has emerged as a viable marketing platform for advertisers who are looking at other sporting events that get viewership.
A case in point is 2010 Commonwealth Games in Delhi which despite all the controversies surrounding it was sampled by 115 million viewers with average ratings of 0.5 TVR on DD1 and DD Sports on the back of encouraging performance by Indian athletes with Indian winning a record 101 medals.
Besides ESS, the event will also be broadcast on DD and DD Sports as the pubcaster had secured the rights from Asia-Pacific Broadcasting Union, a non-profit, professional association of broadcasting organisations, after paying $3 million for acquiring the rights.
MAM
Boldfit extends partnership with Royal Challengers Bengaluru
New “Champions #TrainBold” campaign offers fans chance to win player-used gear.
MUMBAI: Boldfit just raised the bar with RCB because when your training gear comes straight from the champions’ gym, even your home workout starts feeling like a title chase. Boldfit, India’s leading sports and fitness brand, has announced the next chapter of its partnership with Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) for the 2026 IPL season through the campaign “Champions #TrainBold”. Now in its third year backing the franchise, Boldfit is moving beyond sponsorship to co-creation, designing performance products based on the team’s real training needs and intensity.
At the centre of the campaign is a limited-edition RCB x Boldfit merchandise collection featuring towels, lifting belts, grips, sports equipment, hydration bottles and shakers all built for those who train with intent. Every purchase gives fans a chance to win authentic, player-used training equipment from the RCB team gym, including lifting belts, yoga mats, skipping ropes, resistance bands, gym balls and more, each accompanied by an authenticated RCB metal placard.
Boldfit founder Pallav Bihani said, “RCB fans have always been known for their bold energy. But boldness doesn’t stop in the stands, it’s built every day in training. This year, our partnership evolves from support to co-creation, building products with the team, for everyone who chooses to train bolder.”
The campaign celebrates last season’s momentum while pushing fans to embrace the same disciplined, high-performance mindset that defines the RCB squad.
In the high-stakes world of the IPL, where every boundary and every wicket matters, Boldfit isn’t just sponsoring a team, it’s giving fans a piece of the grind, proving that champions aren’t made only on match day; they’re forged in the gym, one bold rep at a time.
