Owned by Reliance Industries RISE Worldwide has reached an agreement with the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) to monetize virtual sponsorship inventory for the ongoing Ashes series, which began on June 16 and will conclude at the end of this month.

"We have signed an agreement with the ECB to manage virtual inventory rights for the Ashes." Previously, we had a partnership with Cricket Australia (CA), which is currently in the process of awarding virtual inventory rights," said Nikhil Bardia, Head of Sponsorship, Sales, and Talent at Rise Worldwide.

The firm is supporting cricket boards in generating a new revenue stream from the Indian market. These cricket regulatory organisations now receive minimal sponsorship money from the Indian market.

"So far, we have worked with 10 to 15 brands on virtual inventory," said Bardia. Rise Worldwide is one of the country's premier sports marketing organisations, having secured over 60 sponsorship deals worth 400 crore for the Indian Premier League 2023.

In addition to the ECB and CA, he added that the BCCI and New Zealand Cricket had experimented with virtual inventories.

With brand assets linked virtually, virtual inventory lies between on-ground advertising and broadcast sponsorship.

"Virtual inventory expands rights holders' commercial potential." "Virtual inventory allows brands to modify creative for each match," Bardia noted.