Will the ICC World Cup be the tipping point for women’s cricket in India? – Brand Wagon News

Newly named International Cricket Council (ICC) chief executive officer Sanjog Gupta believes the ICC women’s cricket World Cup that kicks off on September 20 could be the tournament that would see “Indian women’s cricket take the next big leap”.

“A World Cup leaves behind a legacy and a culture that inspires generations, as we saw in the 2007 T20 World Cup or in the 2011 men’s World Cup victory. Mithali (Raj) in multiple world cups, and in particular the 2017 tournament, showed that India has heroes beyond the men’s team,” said Gupta.

Hope prevails

Many cricket fans will remember the heartbreak of the 2017 World Cup when India fell short by a mere nine runs against England in the final. Pundits hail that tournament as a pivotal moment for women’s cricket, with 156 million viewers tuning in from India. What gives them hope is the fact that only months back, India’s women won a T20 series on English soil for the first time.

With the Women’s Premier League (WPL) wrapping up a third successful season earlier this year — 30 million TV viewers tuned in for the first game alone with some brands hiking their WPL spending by 15-20% this year over last season — Gupta asserts that the upcoming tournament that will be co-hosted by Sri Lanka could propel the growth of the women’s sport in India. It will be played across Bengaluru, Guwahati, Indore and Visakhapatnam in India and Colombo in Sri Lanka. Gupta is optimistic that this will draw young women and inspire them to take up the sport.

No longer an add on

Although the ICC has not yet named any advertisers for the upcoming tournament, the body had announced in May this year that women’s events would have standalone sponsors in an effort to give them greater prominence. “The decoupling signals that women’s cricket is no longer an add-on or a freebie attached to men’s games, but a high-potential commercial product,” Anurag Dahiya, ICC’s chief commercial officer had told ESPNcricinfo.

Although women’s cricket doesn’t yet command the kind of viewership or advertiser interest that men’s cricket does, Sajal Gupta, CEO of Kiaos Marketing, says this World Cup could be the tipping point for two reasons: Viewership for wom-en’s cricket — at least for the India matches — has improved over time and with the festive season around the corner, advertisers will want to get on board. In any case, the match timing starting at 3 pm is considered a comfortable afternoon viewing window for women.

“Advertisers from categories such as FMCG, consumer durables, home décor and jewellery will benefit from advertising during the World Cup because it will definitely attract eyeballs. Although we may not see viewership similar to men’s games, it will draw younger audiences,” says Gupta, adding that even categories that are not necessarily women-focussed are expected to get on board.

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