Reliance Communications Bags Cricket World Cup Sponsorship For Us$ 103 Million

[Arun 795]

Business Standard

New Delhi July 15, 2007

Reliance Communications has grabbed the rights to be one of the global sponsors for World Cup cricket.

The telecom major has paid over US$ 103 million to get the rights for eight years, which include two World Cups, the 20-20 World Cup and the Championship Trophy.

When contacted, a Reliance Communications spokesperson declined comment. Hutch, LG, Pepsi and Hero Honda were the global sponsors for the 2007 World Cup.

The deal includes an array of rights, exclusive ground signage, free use of the World Cup logo, use of the company's name in the background during press conferences and award ceremonies among others.

Industry experts said the sponsor also got the first right of refusal for buying air time in the category it operated from the broadcaster, who has the rights over the Cup.

But the most important one is that no competitor can use any cricketer for advertising.

For instance, Hutch won't be able to use Rahul Dravid (if he plays in the World Cup) for advertising its mobile services, but Reliance will have freedom to use Mahendra Singh Dhoni.

There also cannot be another global sponsor from the same category (like Reliance in telecom). Says a senior executive of a telecom company: "If you have a clear cricket strategy in place, you can wipe out competitors for those 30-45 days and make an impact on the audiences."

What Reliance Communications can leverage are over 18 ICC tournaments with two ICC Cricket World Cups, in Asia (2011) and Australasia (2015), and a minimum of three ICC Champions Trophy tournaments.

Also included are the first two ICC Twenty20 World Championships, in South Africa (2007) and England (2009), the latter taking place in the ICC's centenary year.

[Honest 836]

^^^

Thats the great news my dear friend.

[Himanshu Singh 19]

The day fools at AIRTEL decided not to renew Sachin's contract I was hoping Reliance to go for a kill. And boy havent they done exactly the same thing?

First they got Sachin to advertise their world cup pack known as SACHIN NAZARA pack.

Now they have done the next best thing by winning the rights for CWC globally.

Now I guess they would sign Sachin as their Brand Ambassador as soon as the cool off period of contract woth AIRTEL gets over.

Edited July 15, 2007 by sachinrocks

[petar 15]

yea...

So during world cup... they would advertise their worldcup packs n what not....

The little rise in stock prices would cover entire amount for Ambani Junior anyway.

[Arun 795]

Reliance Communications happy with 20xTwenty World Cup

United New of India (UNI)

Mumbai, Sep 23 :

With the 20xTwenty World Cup tournament almost reaching its climax, official sponsor Reliance Communications should be laughing its way to the bank.

The success of the tournament has been unprecedented, with its entertaining format -- fast-paced, with cheerleaders and has attracted huge viewership. Since India is in the final, the popularity is even more better. ''It has been a good association for the brand,'' said Sanjay Behl, Head (Branding and Marketing) of Reliance Communications. According to Mr Behl, Reliance Communications is planning to invest more in sporting arena, especially in cricket, hockey and adventure sports, and the upcoming India vs Australia and India vs Pakistan cricket tours.