MS Dhoni takes over Virat Kohli in commercial airtime

Two of the biggest names in Indian cricket, limited overs skipper MS Dhoni and Test skipper Virat Kohli are also the two favorite faces of brands and advertisers. Though they haven’t really been a competition for each other on the cricket field it certainly is so in the advertisement industry.

Kohli has over the years decided to be picky about the brands that he endorses and also charges a whopping Rs. 3 crores. Dhoni, on the other hand, has though lost a bit after his Test retirement makes it up by occupying more space and time on commercial airtime.

AdEx India, a division of Television Audience Measurement (TAM) Media Research, after a recent research placed MS Dhoni at the top of the list of 10 sports stars with the maximum commercial airtime in the first half of 2016. Dhoni after being beaten by his contemporary in 2015 overtook Kohli this year. The maximum commercial airtime is calculated on the basis of ad volumes in seconds.

Kohli has also seen a drop in his overall rank in the list which also includes Bollywood and television actors in it along with sports personalities. He is currently placed 19th in 2016 from being on the 3rd spot in the same list last year. The combined list is topped by Bollywood actress Kareena Kapoor Khan and is followed by superstar Shah Rukh Khan. Dhoni though has managed to retain his place and is still on the sixth position.

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On trying to reach a conclusive reason for this drop it was learnt that Virat’s high-brand endorsement fee along with his decision to be associated with a select pick of brands could well be the reason why advertisers are signing up Dhoni over him.

An ad-maker who has worked with both the cricketers for commercials was quoted by HT saying, “The current fee for signing Virat is Rs 3 crore per day, whereas Dhoni charges half of Kohli, which is about Rs 1.5 crore. This makes Dhoni more attractive and an accessible option for brands,”

Bunty Sajdeh, ‎CEO of Cornerstone Sport & Entertainment, which manages Kohli’s brand engagements said: “I have turned down almost 16 brand engagement offers in the last 24 months. Our idea is not to over-expose him.”

“Moreover, Mahi (MS Dhoni) today endorses twice the brands than what Virat endorses… It could be because of difference in choices of doing business,” Sajdeh added.

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Against the 16 brands that the Test skipper is associated with it is believed that MSD has at least 20 endorsements which will spike up around and after the release of his biopic. Arun Pandey, Dhoni’s manager and chairperson of Rhiti Sports Management, which manages his brand endorsements and communication, said, “Dhoni’s new brand engagements are doing very well, and he has just signed five new brands. He now endorses 20 brands, which is a huge portfolio.”

The brand ‘Dhoni’ is expected to see a surge once his biopic, ‘MS Dhoni: The Untold Story’ releases.

“After the release of biopic, his brand endorsements will go on a different level,” Pandey said.