CHENNAI: The upcoming five-match away Test series against England offers Sony Sports, the Indian broadcaster, the rare opportunity of showcasing live cricket on its channels. However, unlike previous times, it comes with a significant challenge because the squad will be devoid of both Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli, generational names whose mere presence meant advertisers were more than happy to vie for inventory before and during live broadcasts.

As it is, after a long Indian Premier League (IPL) season, advertisers shut down for a period of time as they are conscious of ‘ad fatigue’ among viewers. So, even if Sony has, in theory, a marquee five-match series against two of the Big Three, the advertising budget for your typical products will not be as much (this problem wasn’t there in 2021 as the IPL was cut short because of the pandemic).

When you couple that with the absence of Sharma and Kohli, there’s a genuine worry that advertisers may not be forming an orderly queue to fill the space between overs. It’s understood that there could be a dent this time and Sony, who retained TV rights for India in all bilateral cricket in England till 2028, may have a hard time in convincing advertisers to part with their money.