PCB's Broadcasting on Sky and Supersport: An opportunity for bigger sponsorship deals?

[Rana]

So this is the first time in my cricket watching career since 2003 that I have been so excited to finally watch my team play on Sky Sports as its home broadcaster.

This I believe not only provides the British Pakistani audience to enjoy high quality coverage of Pakistan cricket, but I also feels it provides a massive exposure to the PCB brand to the wider sports viewership.

I think it is no time for the PCB to further capitalise on its excellent efforts and get the best sponsorship deals that it can in terms of Kit manufacturing, stadium placarding and kit focal sponsors/partners.

It is time to move on from mediocre sponsors such as AJ Sports, Tuc Biscuits and EasyPaisa.

Let me put before you some of my marketing visions:

1. I think Wasim Khan and PCB need to do their best to get a reputable airline or travel company to become the focal, central sponsor of Pakistan cricket instead of Pepsi or Easy Paisa. The reason being is that millions of overseas Pakistanis are customers of world renown airlines such as Emirates, Qatar Airways, Virgin Atlantic.

PCB and Pakistan have every right to try and get a sponsorship deal from one of these world renown airlines because the Airlines know fully well that Pakistani market around the world will not lose them any money, and it may steal customers from other airlines, maybe even the PIA but a sponsor like Emirates would add so much more class to our Cricket shirts than Pepsi or Easy Paisa.

2. The PCB needs to try its best now to find a suitable kit manufacturer even if the sponsorship deal is a fraction of what they pay to Big 3 teams or South Africa.

Whilst people may argue that Adidas or New Balance have very less scope to do meaningful business in Pakistan due to the fake shirt sale which is a valid concern. One must remember that the exposure of the brand on sky sports in the UK+ Europe and Supersport in Africa, and now Sony in India is more than enough regardless if the shirt is Pakistani. New Balance or Adidas will still benefit from the sales due to a much wider exposure now through the PCB, as this wasnt really the case with Hum Masala or PTV.

3. PCB can now aim for more overseas partners/companies that rely on customers from Pakistan and abroad. These would be the ideal placards in the stadiums and boundary markers.

from a website:

Currently, around 120 British firms are operating and investing in Pakistan. Major UK businesses succeeding in Pakistan include Mott MacDonald infrastructure development, which played an integral role in the development of the new Islamabad airport; Unilever and Reckitt Benckiser in the consumer goods sector; Standard Chartered and UBL in banking; GlaxoSmithKline in pharmaceuticals and Shell in oil and gas as well as UK brands including Debenhams, Toni and Guy, Monsoon and Accessorize.

I could further add to this by saying Western Union, KFC, McDonalds, Subway are some examples of global companies that the PCB can also look to utilise as sponsors with the Sky exposure, as these companies are also functioning successfully in the big cities of Pakistan.

These are just some of the basic ideas, but I sincerely hope that the PCB goes all out and finds some of the best sponsorship deals it can now with all of its good work in broadcasting rights. This is all relevant now because we have really not had such an exposure since 1999 in the UK at least, thats over 2 decades ago!

 

[Omer2002]

Excellent write up mate.

Although i have my doubts pcb will go towards that route. Pakistan themselves are famous for the sports equipment/Gear so i dont think they would outsource that but to move fowards i think they need to invest in this

 

[Rana]

Excellent write up mate.

Although i have my doubts pcb will go towards that route. Pakistan themselves are famous for the sports equipment/Gear so i dont think they would outsource that but to move fowards i think they need to invest in this

In regards to kit and gear, I think the PCB need to let the local companies take a hit for at least a decade whilst PCB expands its global image through Adidas, New Balance or Nike. This is exactly what India has done whilst promoting its brand through Nike since 2007, eventually they secured a very big deal with MPL sports who are utilising the massive brand that has been created into the Indian market now.

AJ sports, CA or MB etc will not allow the PCB’s brand to grow from a global perspective

 

[Savak]

Improve the quality of your cricket team and psl, the sponsorship will follow. When you have misbah ul Haq infestation in your cricket system, not even a chai wallah or dhaba will invest in your cricket

 

[Thunderbolt14]

Good suggestions about potential brands. Hopefully we nab one or two

 

[Greenstorm]

Interesting suggestions.

PCB should also look for a private local broadcaster (maybe Geo Super) instead of PTV. They have no marketing sense. Considering the lack of sponsors in domestic cricket, I don't think PCB will get even 30% of their projected Rs 200 million deal with PTV.

 

[CleverSir]

Pepsi is one of the largest brands in the world. They've sponsored our team through thick and thin for so long and you want to drop them?

 

[Rana]

Pepsi is one of the largest brands in the world. They've sponsored our team through thick and thin for so long and you want to drop them?

I wouldn’t drop them completely, but I would have them removed as the focal sponsor at the front of the shirt. We should be ruthless with our decision making when it comes to brand image and marketing. Because the right decisions in this field will have lasting affects for many years to become.

The Pakistan cricket shirt would look far more prestigious with a more sophisticated brand that has been profiting from us for ages, for instance Emirates Airlines makes millions of pounds yearly from Overseas Pakistanis and Pakistanis who Male short trips to the UAE from Islamabad due to work/labour purposes. Why shouldn’t Emirates or Qatar be the central, focal sponsor and enhance your global look over Pepsi?

 

[Thunderbolt14]

I wouldn’t drop them completely, but I would have them removed as the focal sponsor at the front of the shirt. We should be ruthless with our decision making when it comes to brand image and marketing. Because the right decisions in this field will have lasting affects for many years to become.

The Pakistan cricket shirt would look far more prestigious with a more sophisticated brand that has been profiting from us for ages, for instance Emirates Airlines makes millions of pounds yearly from Overseas Pakistanis and Pakistanis who Male short trips to the UAE from Islamabad due to work/labour purposes. Why shouldn’t Emirates or Qatar be the central, focal sponsor and enhance your global look over Pepsi?

Emirates is a luxury option, most labor class use AirBlue, PIA, Shaheen Air, and Orient Airways.

Emirates would probably not have a lot of money to make off of the Pakistan team, but there’s no harm in reaching out to them.

Pepsi has a lot of money to make off of the main working class audience, and that’s why they pay premium amounts of money to us. Emirates is unlikely to match that, but everyone makes bad business decisions so why not.

I’m sure a lot of these companies you mentioned can be good second-tier sponsorship opportunities, and Emirates itself might be lured by the British Pakistani market. Let’s see.

 

[Rana]

Honestly man, the lime green Easy Paisa Test shirts with the lime green numbers, with the mediocre sportsmen such as Abbas, Fawad, Shan Masood, Azhar Ali, Abid Ali etc. They are looking extremely pony on TV and this is doing as much harm and damage to the PCB global brand than the actual performances.

 

[Rana]

Emirates is a luxury option, most labor class use AirBlue, PIA, Shaheen Air, and Orient Airways.

Emirates would probably not have a lot of money to make off of the Pakistan team, but there’s no harm in reaching out to them.

Pepsi has a lot of money to make off of the main working class audience, and that’s why they pay premium amounts of money to us. Emirates is unlikely to match that, but everyone makes bad business decisions so why not.

I’m sure a lot of these companies you mentioned can be good second-tier sponsorship opportunities, and Emirates itself might be lured by the British Pakistani market. Let’s see.

The point is, I would take a loss if it means that the brand image of the PCB can be enhanced, as it would open up sponsorship opportunities for stadium placards and boundary markers.

I’ll give you one personal example. I worked with a team, club that has a very generous home sponsor. The club had no need really to get a sponsor on the front of their shirt...but we still reached out to local businesses in order to get a front sponsor to make the shirt stand out and look classy.

To our surprise, we found some excellent offers from start up businesses. However, we chose to go with a significantly less offer by a reputable estate agent in order to maintain the standard and class of the head sponsor that is one of England’s leading companies in its field. We did not want to compromise the brand/outlook of our club/company just because a major chicken shop chain has offered us a lot of money.

Believe me, as long as you look the part, you will get the part. This is what PCB has been lacking for ages with some of their marketing ploys. PCB could easily have included Coca Cola as well instead of Pepsi which would also be very successful in Pakistan. But I believe they might not want to try this because of conspiracies surrounding Coca Cola and it’s links to countries that may not be accepted in the Islamic republic of Pakistan.

Considering such a factor, Emirates is a brand that fits perfectly with the global Muslim identity which should be an instant hit with the vast majority of Pakistani nationals. There must be contractual obligations and restraints which could be acting as hurdles, but honestly The PCB has a massive opportunity to sell itself now that it has secured a deal with SKY

 

[Greenstorm]

Honestly man, the lime green Easy Paisa Test shirts with the lime green numbers, with the mediocre sportsmen such as Abbas, Fawad, Shan Masood, Azhar Ali, Abid Ali etc. They are looking extremely pony on TV and this is doing as much harm and damage to the PCB global brand than the actual performances.

You are right. We need some badtameez cricketers wearing addidas/Nike kits. Need to bring that aura back.

 

[leonidas_alexandar]

Interesting suggestions.

PCB should also look for a private local broadcaster (maybe Geo Super) instead of PTV. They have no marketing sense. Considering the lack of sponsors in domestic cricket, I don't think PCB will get even 30% of their projected Rs 200 million deal with PTV.

What exactly is this Rupees 200 million deal with PTV? Can you kindly expand on that?

 

[Savak]

What exactly is this Rupees 200 million deal with PTV? Can you kindly expand on that?

Its a $200 million deal which the PCB is projecting to earn from their arrangement with PTV for the next 3 years

 

[aqeelPK]

What exactly is this Rupees 200 million deal with PTV? Can you kindly expand on that?

PCB and PTV will share advertising & distribution revenues, the board taking a 57.5% share and the broadcaster 42.5%. PCB is confident of making more than $200m from this deal in next three years.

 

[leonidas_alexandar]

Its a $200 million deal which the PCB is projecting to earn from their arrangement with PTV for the next 3 years

Wow it is not rupees it is USD. This sounds so promising. This will potentially make PCB the richest board after BCCI - will it not?

Is this predicated on a combination of PSL and elite teams returning to tour Pakistan? With South Africa already coming - it is only a matter of time before the other big teams return to Pakistan.

 

[leonidas_alexandar]

PCB and PTV will share advertising & distribution revenues, the board taking a 57.5% share and the broadcaster 42.5%. PCB is confident of making more than $200m from this deal in next three years.

Thank you. That is a very robust/bullish projection. But if the projection does materialize it will result in a financial windfall for the PCB and hopefully the benefits will percolate to the grassroots levels.

 

[Rana]

Wow it is not rupees it is USD. This sounds so promising. This will potentially make PCB the richest board after BCCI - will it not?

Is this predicated on a combination of PSL and elite teams returning to tour Pakistan? With South Africa already coming - it is only a matter of time before the other big teams return to Pakistan.

InshaAllah they will all return now and hopefully we will see an India v Pakistan series in this decade also.

 

[leonidas_alexandar]

InshaAllah they will all return now and hopefully we will see an India v Pakistan series in this decade also.

That will be a dream come true. Despite the bad blood between the governments - if at all the Indian team were to tour Pakistan - I honestly believe the Pakistani people will shower them with a lot of love and perhaps the best reception of all the teams that'll tour Pakistan.

First things first - South Africa needs to be dealt with and hopefully Pakistan can find some inspiration playing at home.

 

[Pakpak]

Great write up. I also with agree with Savak though, at changing some of the dinosaur personnel we have. The $200 million deal.....mark my words, I'd be surprised if we even get $50.

 

[TheSultan]

Tbh - sky are struggling to get decent cricket coverage and many sports in general. BT sports have taken away a lot of series such as all series in Aus and some key ones in NZ etc. They have UFC nailed and a lot of the recent high profile boxing PPVs too (apart from AJ)

Don’t want to say Sky are scraping the barrel, but they’ll take what they can get these days.

Regardless, I agree with the OP that PCB should look at this as an opportunity and try and make it work to their advantage

 

[Rana]

Tbh - sky are struggling to get decent cricket coverage and many sports in general. BT sports have taken away a lot of series such as all series in Aus and some key ones in NZ etc. They have UFC nailed and a lot of the recent high profile boxing PPVs too (apart from AJ)

Don’t want to say Sky are scraping the barrel, but they’ll take what they can get these days.

Regardless, I agree with the OP that PCB should look at this as an opportunity and try and make it work to their advantage

I think if that’s the case, then Sky and ECB should do what they can to create interesting series now between England, Pakistan and India in England. This would work fantastically actually. A tri series tournament in England, BCCI shouldn’t have much of an issue facing Pakistan in a neutral tournament that isn’t hosted by PCB or BCCI

 

[aqeelPK]

That will be a dream come true. Despite the bad blood between the governments - if at all the Indian team were to tour Pakistan - I honestly believe the Pakistani people will shower them with a lot of love and perhaps the best reception of all the teams that'll tour Pakistan.

First things first - South Africa needs to be dealt with and hopefully Pakistan can find some inspiration playing at home.

PCB no longer need India. They are already making huge revenues thanks to PSL & return of international cricket at home. That's why PCB no longer even talk about playing India. Also, I think hatred towards India is at its peak among general public thanks to social media.

 

[Greenstorm]

Its a $200 million deal which the PCB is projecting to earn from their arrangement with PTV for the next 3 years

Its in dollars ?

PCB won't even get 200 million in Rupees.

 

[Savak]

Its in dollars ?

PCB won't even get 200 million in Rupees.

Time will tell. There is no way the PCB would quote such a huge number without doing a lot of work and due dilligence

 

[Majid Khan]

It all depends on the quality of the product that gets delivered.

If Pakistan continue to perform at Bangladesh/Zimbabwe level against the better teams, then there will be very little commercial interest as without a proper contest viewers will lose interest.

I remember a time back in 90s when even neutrals would have Pakistan as their ‘favourite’ team after their own country because they were so entertaining , just like Holland were in football.

Now in the depressing era of Shan Masood, Azhar Ali and Mohammad Abbas and co. , even once die hard Pakistani supporters like myself who would wake up at 3am not to miss a live Pakistan game on TV with Saeed Anwar opening the batting or Wasim/Waqar’s opening spell — I barely have any interest in watching the current team.

 

[Rana]

@saj

I read somewhere that Qatar Airways has replaced Pepsi as Pakistan’s focal sponsor. Is this true?

 

[UzmanBeast]

@saj

I read somewhere that Qatar Airways has replaced Pepsi as Pakistan’s focal sponsor. Is this true?

Qatar Airways is quite interesting, because it could mean that the airline industry is looking at other sports to gain international attention.

Looking at teams right now, Pakistan is perhaps the best team to sponsor because the likes of England, India, Australia, and New Zealand are rock solid on their own sponsorships.

If this news is true, Qatar will probably sponsor the Pakistan Cricket Team for a few years until they can land a contract with a better cricketing nation. They would continue if they make a lot of revenue from the Pakistan Cricket Team.

 

[Rana]

Qatar Airways is quite interesting, because it could mean that the airline industry is looking at other sports to gain international attention.

Looking at teams right now, Pakistan is perhaps the best team to sponsor because the likes of England, India, Australia, and New Zealand are rock solid on their own sponsorships.

If this news is true, Qatar will probably sponsor the Pakistan Cricket Team for a few years until they can land a contract with a better cricketing nation. They would continue if they make a lot of revenue from the Pakistan Cricket Team.

The source I read stated that it was a 5 year agreement. Waiting for Saj to confirm if this is true or not

 

[Saj]

@saj

I read somewhere that Qatar Airways has replaced Pepsi as Pakistan’s focal sponsor. Is this true?

Nothing from PCB yet. I'll make some enquiries.

 

[Saj]

@saj

I read somewhere that Qatar Airways has replaced Pepsi as Pakistan’s focal sponsor. Is this true?

From Wasim Khan "Complete nonsense mate"

 

[Rana]

From Wasim Khan "Complete nonsense mate"

Fair enough

Bizarre story to break out randomly though I must say

 

[Majid Khan]

It’s one thing to have a multi national brand like Pepsi as your team sponsor , but Qatar Airways, the national airline of another country to sponsor the Pakistan national cricket team? It just doesn’t feel right.

 

[Rana]

It’s one thing to have a multi national brand like Pepsi as your team sponsor , but Qatar Airways, the national airline of another country to sponsor the Pakistan national cricket team? It just doesn’t feel right.

Well, PIA is broke? I doubt Pakistan cricket team bring them more business if they do become our main sponsor.

Qatar and Emirates are more frequently used as international airlines for Pakistanis around the world to and back from Pakistan

 

[UzmanBeast]

Well, PIA is broke? I doubt Pakistan cricket team bring them more business if they do become our main sponsor.

Qatar and Emirates are more frequently used as international airlines for Pakistanis around the world to and back from Pakistan

Pakistan would be extremely lucky if they get a sponsorship deal from a sporting brand.

I wonder which sponsor will take a gamble with the Pakistan Cricket Team.

Hopefully it's not some sponsor previously unheard of.

 

[The cricket enthusiast]

Pakistan would be extremely lucky if they get a sponsorship deal from a sporting brand.

I wonder which sponsor will take a gamble with the Pakistan Cricket Team.

Hopefully it's not some sponsor previously unheard of.

More than their performance and a team as a whole it's unpredictability of it's management & unprofessionalism that big off for the major sponsor .

 

[UzmanBeast]

More than their performance and a team as a whole it's unpredictability of it's management & unprofessionalism that big off for the major sponsor .

Yes, no major sporting brand wants to be associated with a team as unprofessional as Pakistan. Firstly, we have no world superstars to give brands necessary exposure, and we are just way too unpredictable.

If Pakistan loses to Zimbabwe, the harm to Pakistan Cricket is quite obvious, but it also dents the reputation of sponsors because people associate the sponsors to a team that plays like a bunch of children.

However, there are certain circumstances where sporting brands will sponsor even the worst teams, and that's if they're making good money. If PCB can accumulate a lot of revenue by hosting the PSL, and also guarantee that a lot of money is to be made from home series in the future, sporting brands will take the gamble but will do so sensibly by offering perhaps a 1 year or 2 year contract to test the waters. If they make good money from this, they will continue the sponsorship, otherwise they will leave after the contract is done.

Sponsors don't just look at the team right now, they look at where the team will be in a few years. None of our players are currently superstars, and if they are, they don't act like it. Nobody on the Pakistan Team has been able to secure a sponsorship outside of the cricketing world. What I mean is that a lot of these cricketing superstars are sponsored by different companies as well (Kohli is an ambassador for Audi if I'm not mistaken along with Vivo), so if the Indian team lost its sponsorship, a lot of potential sponsors would want to get that exposure because it can help them tap into larger markets in India. Nothing of the sort exists in Pakistan, there were some rumors a year ago that Babar became the brand ambassador for Gatorade but that died out very quickly.

 

[MenInG]

From Wasim Khan "Complete nonsense mate"

Yes sounded too good to be true - but to be honest this is the kind of thing PM Imran can do for Pak cricket if he gets the time to do.

 

[Saj]

Pakistan would be extremely lucky if they get a sponsorship deal from a sporting brand.

I wonder which sponsor will take a gamble with the Pakistan Cricket Team.

Hopefully it's not some sponsor previously unheard of.

This is one area where Wasim Khan and co will be a bit disappointed, in that they've not been able to get some major sponsors on board.

 

[Major]

btw, PTV has been forced to upgrade their cameras.

Thus, i think PTV sports might now be HD finally after july

 

[UzmanBeast]

This is one area where Wasim Khan and co will be a bit disappointed, in that they've not been able to get some major sponsors on board.

To get big sponsors, you need to be a big team both in terms of the revenue generated but also by the standard of international cricket.

If COVID did not happen, sponsors would be making quite some money from the jam-packed home games.

Pakistan needs to either win a World Cup, or perform exceptionally well in England, New Zealand, and Australia to get recognition from high-profile brands.