Historically, it has been the women cricketers who have got their names etched on the honours board, primarily ahead of men on the world forum. Australia’s Belinda Clarke is the first double centurion in ODI cricket, while England was the first team to secure an ODI World Cup title in 1973, a couple of years preceding the men’s event.
Generally, women’s cricket coverage was once limited to major tournaments and occasional stories of legendary players. However, the emergence of Women’s Big Bash League (WBBL) and Women’s Premier League (WPL) has shifted the landscape. Social media engagement, crucial for franchise cricket’s popularity, has witnessed a transformation. Media outlets now provide dedicated coverage during prime hours, no longer treating it as an afterthought.
Viacom 18’s massive $116 million deal before the WPL’s launch signalled the growing enthusiasm. With the WPL aligned with the IPL, brands have found a fresh market to explore. For an entire month, female cricketers dominate billboards, and top players secure endorsement deals, laying the foundation for a loyal fan base. While the league’s founders may have initially feared failure, it has instead emerged as a resounding success.
TAM Sports’ Commercial Advertising Report on the 2024 Women’s Premier League highlights the advertising volume recorded during the league’s second season. TAM Sports, a division of TAM Media Research, integrates technology and domain knowledge to measure and manage brand activation performance and effectiveness in sports.
The Analysis of Commercial advertising is based on ad volumes across 6 Star Network channels for WPL and 8 for ICC Women’s T20 World Cup. The study is based on all live matches during WPL and ICC Women’s T20 World Cup only i.e. excluding PRE-MID-POST Programs. The analysis is based on Pure Advertising [i.e. Excluding Franchisees, Promos, Filler, Film Trailer].
Two-wheelers topped WPL with 12% share of ad volumes followed by cars, retail Outlets, wires and cables and ECOM with 7%,7%.6% and 5% respectively.
During WPL, the top five categories accounted for 38% of total ad volume, compared to 56% in ICC Women’s T20 World Cup. During WPL, the top five sponsors contributed 36% of ad volume, as Hero Motocorp topped in terms of advertising with 9% share during WPL.
Top 5 brands contributed 29% share of ad volumes in WPL and Hero Vida V1 was the top advertised brand during WPL.
These are proud numbers from the commercial and economic perspective of the league, and another thriller-packed season is bound to take the number to greater heights.
(Inputs sourced from TAM Sports – A Division of TAM Media Research)
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