With less than 24 hours remaining for the Afro Asia Cup cricket series
to kick off in Bangalore, the organisers are yet to find a main sponsor
for the event as well as for the Asian team.
"We are still looking for sponsor for the Asian team while African team will
be sponsored by Sahara Computers," Asian Cricket Council CEO Syed
Ashraful Huq said.
Asked about the main sponsor of the series, Huq said: "It
has not been finalised yet, we are still in talks with some people." It
is understood there are no takers even for the in-stadia advertising rights,
which is with ACC.
Besides struggling to find sponsors, the tournament has also not been able
been able to attract media buyers' interest for advertisements.
Industry sources say the broadcaster for the series, ESPN
Star Sports has fixed the floor price for a ten second slot at Rs 35,000.
But officials at the channel cound not be reached for confirmation.
"Currently we are not receiving any queries from advertisers because no
one is interested in the series. It's not a matter of price, it's a question
of need for being in the series as advertisers," Mindshare Managing Director
Sunda Raman said.
He said companies like PepsiCo, Motorola and UB among its clients,
which are heavy on advertisement in cricket, have not contacted it for the series
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