Future holds cup, buys in-stadia rights for 4 ODIs

AFTER a week of waiting and watching, the Future Group has bailed out both BCCI and Percept D’- Mark by agreeing to buy the exclusive in-stadia rights for the four one-day international matches next month in Scotland and Ireland, featuring the Indian cricket team for a total of $2.2 million, about 10% lower than what the BCCI was originally expecting from the sale of rights — $2.4 million or $600,000 per match. The tournament will be called Future Cup.

Apart from the lower media cost, the Future Group also gets a bigger bang for the buck. In the past, different advertisers have tended to share in-stadia rights. This time, however, the Future Group will have complete control in showcasing its brands — Pantaloon, Big Bazaar, Food Bazaar, Future Media and even their new insurance venture — within all the stadia in Scotland and Ireland for which the company has rights. Sponsors have rarely queued up for in-stadia rights in the recent past. There were just four bidders that had bought tenders for the series, including Percept D’Mark, Sporting Frontiers and 21st Century Media, but it was left only to Percept to find a sponsor. The last two series, in Abu Dhabi and Malaysia, were disasters for Percept. During the Abu Dhabi series, Kingfisher Airlines managed to get a number of hoardings on the ground on the night before the match at discounted prices — they paid a total of Rs. 10 lakh, whereas the asking price of BCCI (which had sold the rights to Percept) was around Rs 50-60 lakh.

What prompted the Future Group to enter into a hitherto unexplored space? The genesis of this lies in an earlier contract. In August, Percept had won two contracts for the Future Group with BCCI, one for sponsoring a cricket award show and the other for official clothing of the Indian cricket team outside of the cricket gear — i.e. formal wear. The latter bid was for Rs 20 crore over four years. The two bids that Percept had got the rights for were annulled a few months ago. Kishore Biyani, managing director, Future Group, confirmed to ET, “We have ended the contract we had with BCCI for clothing.” But he didn’t comment on the exact nature of the deal or whether the BCCI owed him money.

According to sources, BCCI owed the Future Group a sum of around Rs 5 crore. So the board found an easier way out this time. Since there were absolutely no takers for the instadia and title rights for the Ireland series, Percept roped in the Future Group as the sole advertiser for the entire series.