MAM
Nike wins Indian team kit sponsorhip with near Rs 2 billion bid; beats out Adidas, Reebok
MUMBAI: Just do it! That is certainly what the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) is managing to do with huge success as far as extracting value out of the Indian cricket team goes. In another major step to market the bat and ball game and make revenue from various sources, the BCCI announced today that it has awarded the rights for the official kit sponsorship to sports goods giant Nike. The winning bid: Rs 1.9666 billion.
The sponsorship enables Nike to get branding on the non leading arm of the cricketers. Nike along with Reebok will also be the official licensee for apparel merchandise for the BCCI. The deal runs from 1 January 2006 to 31 December 2010.
The BCCI opened the tender bids for the kit sponsors on 15 December 2005 and closed it on 19 December 2005 at 5 pm. Besides Nike, the other parties that made the shortlist were Adidas and Reebok.
Speaking on this BCCI VP Lalit Modi says, “Nike’s bid was the highest at Rs 196.66 crores (1.9666 billion). Adidas bid Rs 127.50 crores (Rs1.275 billion). Reebok had bid Rs 119.48 crores (Rs 1.1948 billion). We had asked for a minimun guarantee of Rs 1 million from the bidders. This period covers 190 match days. Last time around Sahara had paid Rs 8.5 crores (Rs 85 million) for sponsorship of the non leading arm. If you make a like-to-like comparison, Nike paid Rs 96 crores (Rs 960 million) for the same this time. In addition Reliance Infocom, Reliance Energy, Slazenger and Admiran bought the tender.”
“The parties bid for 60 test matches and 138 ODIs. To this we have added 50 ODIs. This deal is a landmark because it represents the first structured licensing programme that the BCCI has come out with. Coupled with the deal with Sahara for team sponsorship, the deal makes the Indian cricket team the most valuable team from a sponsorship point of view in the world. It will earn $27.12 million a year. The football club Juventus is second at $22.8 million. We were looking for a partner who could bring cutting edge innovation in apparel and footwear,”adds Modi.
Nike’s sports marketing director for the Asia Pacific region Peter Bratschi says, “This is truly a defining moment for Nike as this is our first step towards demonstrating our commitment to India and the game of cricket. We are thankful to BCCI for placing the trust in Nike and its innovative products, and for choosing us as their official kit sponsor for the Indian cricket team. We look forward to working with the team, and to creating the best performance products for the players.”
The parties were asked to quote on a few parameters for being an apparel licensee. A minimum royalty rate was fixed at nine per cent
Bidders were also asked to quote for the supply of free products for the BCCI. They were required to quote amounts year wise, that they thought they would need to spend for the BCCI. The BCCI had the option to pay for this and add it to the base compensation.
As far as the base compensation for the non-leading arm of the players shirt was concerned, the minimum price per ODI and test was fixed at Rs 1 million.
The kit will include travel gear, head gear, t-shirts, caps, socks, sunglasses and wristbands. Nike has a sports lab and takes inputs from players whenever it develops products. Nike will market replicas of the Indian team kit through its distribution network in India and abroad.
Modi further adds,” The tender documents for the broadcast rights for India cricket will open next month. The BCCI is looking at other sponsorship opportunities as well. These too will be unveilled next month. The reports that DD will not be allowed to sell airtime on India cricket that airs on it are misleading. The BCCI will be coming out with a tender document inviting marketing agencies to bid for the right to sell airtime on DD. If DD’s offer is the best then it can do the same.”
MAM
ASCI study uncovers how Gen Alpha navigates ads in endless digital feeds
‘What the Sigma?’ ethnographic report maps blurred boundaries between content and commerce for 7–15-year-olds.
MUMBAI: Gen Alpha isn’t scrolling through the internet, they’re living rent-free inside its never-ending dopamine drip, and the ads have already moved in next door. The Advertising Standards Council of India (ASCI) Academy, partnering with Futurebrands Consulting, has published ‘What the Sigma?’, an immersive ethnographic study that maps how Indian children aged 7–15 (Generation Alpha) consume, interpret and live alongside media and commercial messaging in a hyper-digital environment.
The research draws on in-home interviews, sibling and peer conversations, and discussions with parents, teachers, counsellors, psychologists, marketers and kidfluencers across six cities. It examines not only what children watch but how algorithms, content creators, peers and parents shape their relationship with the constant stream of shorts, vlogs, gameplay, memes, sponsored posts and ‘kid-ified’ adult material.
Five core themes emerged:
- Discontinuous Generation, Gen Alpha is not growing up alongside the internet, they are growing up inside it. Cultural references, humour, aesthetics and language sync globally in real time, often leaving adults functionally illiterate in their children’s world. A reference that lands instantly for a 10-year-old in Mumbai or Visakhapatnam feels opaque or disjointed to most parents.
- Authority Vacuum, Parents and teachers frequently lose cultural fluency in digital spaces. The algorithm responsive, inexhaustible and perfectly attuned to preferences becomes the most attentive presence in many children’s daily lives. Rules around screen time feel increasingly difficult to enforce when adults cannot fully see or understand the content landscape.
- Digital as Society, Online and offline no longer exist as separate realms, they form one continuous reality. The phone is not a tool children pick up; it is the primary social environment they inhabit.
- Great Media Mukbang, Content flows as an ambient, boundary-less, multi-sensorial stream. Entertainment, advertising, commerce, gameplay, memes and vlogs merge into one undifferentiated feed. The line between active choice and passive absorption has largely collapsed.
- Blurred Ad Recognition, Children aged 7–12 typically recognise only the most overt advertising formats. Influencer promotions, gaming integrations and vlog sponsorships often register as organic entertainment. Children aged 13–15 show greater ad literacy but remain highly susceptible to narrative-integrated, passion-driven and emotionally resonant brand messaging. Discernment remains low across the board in a non-stop stream.
ASCI CEO and secretary general Manisha Kapoor said, “ASCI Academy’s study is an investigation into the content life of Generation Alpha not to judge them but to understand them. Their cultural reference points seem disjointed from those of earlier generations. Insights on how they perceive advertising is the first step towards building more responsible engagement frameworks, given that they are the youngest media consumers in our country right now.”
Futurebrands Consulting founder and director Santosh Desai added, “While earlier generations have been exposed to digital media, for this generation it is the world they inhabit. This report explores not only what they watch but how they are being shaped by algorithms, content and advertising.”
The study proposes four adaptive, principles-led pathways:
- Universal signposting of commercial intent using design principles that make advertising recognisable even to young audiences.
- Ecosystem-wide responsibility shared among advertisers, platforms, creators, schools and parents.
- Future-ready safeguards built directly into children’s content experiences rather than as optional background settings.
- Formal media and advertising literacy embedded in school curricula to teach age-appropriate understanding of persuasion and commercial intent.
In a feed that never pauses, Gen Alpha isn’t merely watching content, they’re swimming in an ocean where entertainment, commerce and identity swirl together. The real question isn’t whether they can spot an ad; it’s whether the adults building the ocean can agree on where the lifeguards should stand.
