Commercial interest spikes ahead of 2025 ICC Women’s World Cup
With under a week to go before the ICC Women’s Cricket World Cup 2025 kicks off in India and Sri Lanka, the tournament is clearly breaking ground commercially. Ad rates and sponsorship packages for the global event have surged by up to 50% compared to the 2022 edition, signaling the strongest commercial momentum ever seen in women’s cricket.
According to a report by Exchange4Media, the International Cricket Council (ICC) has restructured sponsorship tiers and ad offerings for the 2025 tournament, making the event a premium standalone property — not just a corporate social responsibility (CSR) add-on or brand goodwill campaign.
Ad rates and sponsorships reach new highs
Title sponsorships are priced between ₹20 crore and ₹35 crore (approx. US$2m–US$4m), with presenting or co-sponsor deals ranging from ₹8 crore to ₹15 crore (approx. US$0.9m–US$1.7m). Associate partnerships fall in the ₹4 crore to ₹8 crore range (approx. US$0.5m–US$0.9m).
Digital add-ons like home-screen takeovers, CTV roadblocks, and India-match mid-rolls are priced at ₹1 crore to ₹4 crore (approx. US$0.1m–US$0.5m). Meanwhile, OTT CPMs on JioHotstar range between ₹500–600 (approx. US$6–US$7), reflecting a sharp uptick in digital demand.
Television inventory has also seen inflation, with 10-second ad slots now quoted at ₹1.5 lakh (approx. US$1.7k), and rising to ₹3 lakh (approx. US$3.4k) for marquee matches such as India games and knockouts. This represents a 10–15% increase over 2022.
Prize money jumps 4x, surpassing men’s 2023 edition
The ICC has announced a record prize pool of US$13.88 million (approx. ₹1.2b) — a fourfold increase from 2022 and higher even than the purse for the men’s 2023 tournament. The champions alone will receive US$4.48 million (approx. ₹0.4b), compared to US$3.5 million (approx. ₹0.3b) in 2022.
With 97% of matches scheduled in prime time and India hosting alongside Sri Lanka, the tournament is well-positioned to maximize both live viewership and engagement across platforms.
Audience demographics and media strategy
Advertisers are tailoring their strategies across multiple formats — television for reach, connected-TV (CTV) for frequency in premium households, and OTT overlays for targeted activations. According to JioStar, the demographic split highlights the format’s inclusive and urban appeal.
“Women’s cricket in India has a broad and diverse audience base, but the strongest traction is among premium, urban consumers. On TV (Star Sports): NCCS AB households contribute 62% of viewership, with nearly three-fourths from Hindi-speaking markets. The gender split is almost balanced at 55% male and 45% female, reflecting its inclusive cultural appeal. On Digital, viewership is dominated by young, affluent audiences. NCCS AB households account for 85% of viewership, nearly 80% comes from Hindi-speaking markets, and 77% of viewers are under 35 years of age. This highlights the format’s strong connection with the youth,” said a JioStar spokesperson.
Advertiser sentiment shifts from ‘test and learn’ to strategic investment
The change in advertiser mindset is reflected in both deal sizes and strategic intent.
“Brands are leaning in more aggressively this year, and the reasons trace back to what’s changed since 2022. Then, awkward New Zealand time zones dampened live viewing in India, and while engagement was record-breaking, the property still lacked full pricing power. In 2025, the tournament sits in India/Sri Lanka with 3:00 pm prime-time starts, prize money has jumped four-fold to $13.88m, higher even than the men’s 2023 purse, and women’s cricket has proven its ability to drive audience momentum, with the 2022 edition already setting digital engagement records at 1.64 billion views,” said Umesh Bopche, CEO of Experience Commerce and CYLNDR India.
“That combination has shifted advertiser sentiment from ‘test and learn’ to ‘buy with intent.’ India games on TV are commanding 25–40% higher rates than 2022, and connected-TV CPMs are the steepest riser as big-screen viewing in metros accelerates. The strategy mix is clear: TV for reach, CTV to deepen frequency in high-value households, OTT overlays for sharper product pushes, layered with women-forward creative, athlete IP, and festival tie-ins. Far from softening demand, higher rates are now seen as the cost of entry to a property that’s scaling fast,” he added.
Brands embrace women’s cricket as standalone commercial property
What was once seen as cause marketing is now a full-fledged commercial play.
“Advertisers seem mostly positive, seeing the rate hikes (10–15%) as justified. Many believe women’s cricket has moved from being a ‘nice-cause’ to a serious commercial property. Brands are excited by the dual channels (TV + OTT), younger and more gender-balanced audiences, and the storytelling potential that comes with women’s sport,” said Yasin Hamidani of Media Care Brand Solutions.
He added, “In 2022, women’s cricket was growing but still often tied to men’s events; standalone sponsorships were rarer. For the 2025 World Cup, multiple brands across FMCG, e-commerce, tech, finance, etc., are coming in early and asking for premium inventory. Also, ICC has officially decoupled women’s events from men’s for sponsorship, making the women’s tournament its own commercial product.”
Selectivity on the rise as brands chase value
While interest has grown, brand strategy has also become sharper and more selective.
“Advertiser interest in the Women’s World Cup is likely to be higher than in 2022, but with rising ad rates, brands are becoming more selective about which games, devices, and audiences to target. The real surge will come if India progresses to the semi-finals and finals, as that is when associations can build stronger equity around women’s cricket rather than just one-off campaigns,” said Rajiv Dubey, Vice President, Head of Media, Dabur India.
Premium slots and festive timing drive further appeal
Festival season timing and India’s marquee matchups — including league-stage fixtures against Pakistan, Australia, and England — are amplifying the appeal of sponsorship slots.
“We are in advance conversations with a healthy mix of traditional festive advertisers and newer categories looking to leverage the property. There has been a clear shift. Earlier, sponsorship was often led by CSR-linked or value-focused brands. Now, we are seeing larger deal sizes, wider category participation, and strong traction from premium, mainstream advertisers. Brands increasingly view women’s cricket as a high-impact, standalone platform and not just a peripheral investment. The festive season adds further momentum, making it especially attractive this year,” said a JioStar spokesperson.
The spokesperson also highlighted the continued audience surge: “The 2024 ICC Women’s T20 World Cup delivered nearly double the reach across both TV and digital compared to other content genres at the time, underscoring the growing popularity of women’s cricket. The upcoming ICC Women’s Cricket World Cup has 97% of matches in primetime. Adding to the excitement, majority of India’s league stage matches are scheduled on Sundays, including marquee games against Pakistan, Australia, and England. All these factors create a strong platform for massive engagement across both TV and digital.”
Conclusion
With prime-time scheduling, a standalone commercial strategy, and record advertiser participation, the ICC Women’s Cricket World Cup 2025 is redefining the business of women’s sport. It’s not just a cricket tournament — it’s a commercial benchmark.
