MUMBAI: JioCinema, official digital streaming partner of TATA IPL 2024, has reported a record number of 18 sponsors and over 250 advertisers for the upcoming season.
Notably, this season has not only witnessed advertiser interest for IPL from conventional, digitally-inclined categories like Automobiles, Mobile Handsets, Banking, Online Broking & Trading, Credit Card Payment, and Construction but also categories that typically invest in traditional mediums such as FMCG. Last year, JioCinema booked a record digital ad revenue compared to that of any other live-streamed event previously.
It bears noting that JioCinema’s free IPL streaming drove up the revenue of Reliance Industries Ltd’s media & entertainment business by a whopping 141.7% to Rs 3,239 crore during April-June 2023 compared to Rs 1,340 crore in the previous year, according to RIL’s quarterly results declared in July 2023.
While the standalone ad revenues from the IPL were not declared, some reports had put the figure at Rs 2,300-2,500 crore (seen from this perch, those numbers seem overly optimistic).
JioCinema’s list of digital streaming sponsors for the 2024 IPL season includes Dream11 as a co-presenting sponsor, while Tata Motors, PayZapp by HDFC Bank, SBI, Cred, AMFI, Upstox, Charged by Thums Up, Britannia, Pepsi, Parle products, Google Pixel, Haier, Jindal Steel, Vodafone, Dalmia Cements, Kamla Pasand and Rapido have joined hands as associate sponsors. Additionally, JioCinema is in advanced discussions with multiple other brands and more are expected to join before the first ball is bowled this TATA IPL beginning on March 22.
With the online fantasy gaming category leading the charge yet again this season, Dream11, MyTeam11, and My11Circle have put their faith in the power of LIVE sport on digital streaming yet again to engage with the sports fans. In a striking shift, brands from the FMCG sector like Britannia, Parle products, Mars chocolates, Tata Consumer Products, and Havmor Ice Cream – typically known for their reliance on traditional channels, have enthusiastically embraced the digital wave as advertisers.
Other major brands from the automobile category such as Maruti, Apollo Tyres, Ashok Leyland, and JK tyres are also driving in with JioCinema to maximize mileage on their advertising spend. In the competitive arenas of banking, payments, online trading, and credit card payments, brands like PayZapp by HDFC Bank, SBI, Cred, AMFI, ICICI Mutual Fund, and LIC are strategically placing their investments with JioCinema, leveraging the platform to connect with audiences in real-time.
This year also marks the resurgence of the premium mobile handset category with upmarket brands like Google Pixel, Apple, Motorola, and Vivo, all poised to dial up their marketing endeavours to unprecedented heights. In the beverage category, the platform has witnessed increased spend this year with Coca-Cola taking the energy drinks category and PepsiCo locking out the cola category.
The sharp increase in interest for advertising on digital not only stems from increased efforts by JioCinema to remove major barriers to advertising, but also its world-class presentation of the marquee T20 league through a 12-language presentation, including Haryanvi joining the line-up this year. Apart from this, JioCinema will continue offering the league for free to viewers, thus creating a mouth-watering proposition for advertisers to access the length and breadth of the country, especially smaller towns which are now adopting digital as a primary viewing medium.
“While last year showed us digital came of age, this season of the TATA IPL is telling us a story that digital is going to be everyone’s primary choice, be it for viewing or advertising. It is beyond doubt that India now prefers watching the TATA IPL on their mobile devices and Connected TVs and advertisers have skewed their spends towards where the consumers are,” said a Viacom18 spokesperson. “The aggressive innovation that we are bringing to the TATA IPL viewing experience, coupled with the efforts we have invested in removing barriers to advertising on digital and democratising it, promises digital ad spending to only head on an upwards trajectory from here every season.”
IPL 2024 will commence on JioCinema with the southern derby as MS Dhoni’s Chennai Super Kings face off with Royal Challengers Bengaluru on Friday, March 22.
Viewers will be able to catch the latest season for free in 4K across 12 languages introducing Haryanvi for the first time, multi-cam options including the much-hyped Hero Cam, and many more fan-engagement features including Jeeto Dhan Dhana Dhan.
