MUMBAI: The 12th edition of the VIVO IPL has delivered a “historical” opening week both in terms of reach and viewership, host broadcaster Star India, distilling BARC data, asserts.
The inaugural week of IPL 2019 saw 283 million viewers tuning in across the country, which is 15% higher than last year. Television viewership reached 33.1* million average impressions registering a growth of 28%* setting a viewership record in the history of the tournament.
The strategy of widening appeal of the IPL across regions, languages, with focus on families and youth, the high decibel marketing campaign ‘Game Banayega Name’, curated programming and a multi-city IPL Trophy Tour, collectively contributed to making the opening week a grand success, the country’s lead broadcaster notes.
Regionalization fuels growth
HSM grew 32% and South grew 19% versus last year. This growth can be attributed to the massive regionalization efforts, as the tournament is being broadcast in 8 languages – English, Hindi, Tamil, Telugu, Kannada, Bengali including Marathi and Malayalam on Sundays. Star has expanded the appeal for the tournament further inviting kids and family with a curated feed called Super Funday, telecast every Sunday on Star Gold. This contributed a massive growth of 41% in viewership amongst kids versus last year.
The opening week is a historic first in many ways and the world’s most high profile annual T20 tournament was enjoyed by all members of the family including children and women, according to the Disney network.
Total Average Impressions* (In million) in first 8 matches: Total – 33.1; Kids (2-14) – 5.1; Females (15+) – 11.8; Males (15+) – 15.9
%Growth in 2019 (vs 2018 SPLY)**: Total – 28%; Kids (2-14) – 41%; Females (15+) – 27%; Males (15+) – 24%
* Source: BARC (TV + OOH), Only Match Telecast Hours considered
** For the growth vs last year, comparison has been done with Star Channels excluding DD on TV versus TV+OOH of this yearIPL Channel Bouquet in 2019 – Asianet Plus, Star Suvarna, STAR Suvarna HD, Jalsha Movies, Jalsha Movies HD, Star Maa Movies, STAR Maa Movies HD, STAR Gold HD,STAR Gold, STAR Pravah, STAR Sports 1,STAR Sports 1 Tamil, STAR Sports 1 Kannada, STAR Sports 1 Telugu, STAR Sports 1 Bangla, STAR Sports 2(v), STAR Sports 1 Hindi, STAR Sports 1 HD,STAR Sports 2 HD(v), STAR Sports 1 HD Hindi, STAR Sports Select 1 HD, STAR Sports Select 1 SD, STAR Vijay Super, Hungama.
