From Billion-Dollar Deals to Brain Mapping—Reliance’s Latest Gimmick?
After sealing an $8.5-billion merger with Disney, Indian billionaire Mukesh Ambani seems to have a new obsession—small businesses, neuroscience, and making IPL ads the next frontier of mind control.
With $10 billion already sunk into IPL broadcast rights, Reliance and Disney are under pressure to make their money back, and fast. Their latest masterstroke? A “brain mapping” study to convince advertisers that IPL ads are more effective than Google and Meta’s. Because, you know, nothing says “trust us” like a corporate-sponsored brain scan.
Reliance’s pitch deck features people strapped into headsets and heart rate monitors, apparently tracking neurons while they watch IPL ads. The results? Reliance claims its IPL ads show up to 4x higher engagement, focus, and memorability than Instagram and YouTube.
In short: Forget Google’s 500 million active users in India—Reliance believes cricket fans’ brains are wired for ad consumption.
Selling Cricket, One Neuron at a Time
In its race to outdo Google and Meta, Reliance is pushing small businesses to cough up $17,000 for IPL ads, claiming they’re now more affordable than ever. But a Bengaluru-based wellness startup owner had a different take:
“I find it cheaper to advertise on Instagram and YouTube.”
If a small business owner is more convinced by an algorithm than a brain scan, it makes you wonder: is neuroscience really helping, or is this just an expensive distraction?
With billions already burnt on ICC and IPL rights, Disney even admitted that the investment was “onerous”, leading to a $1.42 billion loss. Meanwhile, Reliance is scrambling to monetise everything—even the tiny scorecard space on mobile screens—after quietly axing free IPL streaming on JioHotstar this month.
And let’s not forget India’s antitrust body, which forced them to promise not to hike ad rates unreasonably. But this year, Reliance still increased IPL streaming ad rates by up to 25%. Because, well, you have to make money.
The Real Big Deal: Who’s Actually Winning?
While Reliance battles for digital supremacy, let’s be honest—YouTube and Meta aren’t sweating. Google’s own brain-imaging study (probably done without strapping people into machines like a sci-fi villain) already declared YouTube the king of engagement.
And right now, Reliance and Disney’s P&L charts are looking pretty rough.
So, while IPL fans enjoy the matches, the real game isn’t on the field—it’s in boardrooms, where billions are on the line, and brain mapping is the latest play.
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