MUMBAI: The IPL 2018’s main broadcaster, Star India is planning to telecast the playoffs and the final of the tournament on its Hindi mass entertainment channel, Star Plus with the aim of expanding the tournament’s reach on television, as viewership numbers on the medium have reduced since the previous season.
According to an Economic Times report, a source in Star India said that “bosses have almost decided” to telecast the matches on mass channels. Star Plus was chosen rather than Star Gold for the same. “We stated that we will reach 700 million viewers via TV and digital (Hotstar) this IPL. While Hotstar reach is great, on TV, despite being aired on 10 channels, reach is not good enough. Especially in the Hindi speaking markets, where earlier rights holder (Sony) had put the matches on Hindi movie channel, it is 15-20% lower,” said the source who wished to remain anonymous.
Despite Star pinning their hopes on localizing the matches broadcast this time, the all-India reach of IPL on TV is 2% lower than last year’s, while in the Hindi-speaking markets, it is 16.7% lower. Reach is defined as the number of individuals who viewed the event for at least one minute.
