Advertisers banking on online cricket sites!

Internet is being used by various bodies like - an individual uses to stay connected with friends, research or collecting information, by organisations to provide information online. And, now almost every channel has an online site to visit where you can also watch the programmes online, if you are at work or have missed the show. Even live cricket matches can also be viewed online.

The Indian advertisers are now waking up to a new platform to cash in on the country's passion for cricket - webcasting or live telecast of cricket matches on the internet.

Ten Sports and Neo Cricket - sports broadcasters, are running webcasts on their sites. These online cricket sites have also provided the space for advertisers ' an array of brands such as Samsung, Maruti Suzuki, Airtel, DoCoMo and Xerox are advertising here.

The companies who advertised on Neo's website, www.cricketnirvana.com during the webcasts of the ongoing tri-nation one-day championship in Bangladesh and the recent Sri Lankan tour of India were - Yahoo!, Vodafone, DoCoMo, Aircel, Samsung and Toyota.

As per media reports, Felix Jose, VP, new Media, at Nimbus Communications which owns Neo Cricket and Neo Sports said, "Advertisers are beginning to understand the potential and growing popularity of the web. At present, an advertiser can run a full campaign on webcast for just Rs 1 lakh, reaching out to about 2.5 lakh computer screens. In comparison, a 10-minute advertisement on television during a live telecast costs Rs 2.5-4-lakh.

Then, Saurabh Bhatia, CEO, Vdopia, who is the online advertising partner of Nimbus and Ten Sports said, "Unlike on television, advertisers on webcasts are able to simultaneously place different advertisements for consumers in different geographies through dynamic ad insertions. They can also pay per viewer as the number of viewers is gauged instantly."

Nimbus Communications, which claims to have pioneered cricket webcasting in the country, has already sold 50 per cent of its advertising inventory on webcasts for next month's South African cricket tour of India to a clutch of web-only advertisers including Toyota and Thailand Tourism Promotion Council, as per media sources.

Advertising on webcasts is part of the approximately Rs 1,000 crore internet advertising industry that is growing at 56 per cent per annum.