IPL 13 Viewership and Advertisement Kick Up!
2 min read
Shifted out of India, to the UAE, in the middle of a raging pandemic and questions pouring on whether the Indian Premier League’s (IPL) 13th edition would find takers, the BARC-Nielsen report suggests that numbers for the league’s 13th edition went through the roof in the first week.
In the first week itself, an average of 8.7 bn minutes per match was watched across India – up by one-third (31%) from the previous season. The Indian Premier League (IPL) has returned, meeting audience and advertising demand for high-profile sporting events, according to data from BARC India and Nielsen. BARC and Nielsen also noted that the number of viewers per match reached 119m in the first week, up from 108m in 2019 and 95m in 2018.
Statistics say that Men watch for longer (4.9bn minutes per match) but Female audiences have seen quicker growth, with minutes watched per match rising by 33% this year. To add to this, Audiences aged 15 to 21 years old recorded the highest level of minutes watched, at 1.6bn, but it was older consumers who have watched more. Consumption among those aged 51 to 60 years old and those older than 61 rose by 43% and 42% respectively.
Not just viewership, the number of advertisers has also grown strongly, rising 19% to 81, while the number of brands rose 22% to 143. Advertisers have tapped into this growth in viewership, with advertising volume 15% higher in the opening week than in 2019. Additional BARC India and Nielsen data show that food and drink brands have been investing more in advertising during the coronavirus outbreak. Media owners will be hoping the IPL’s return will reverse a difficult start to the year – Indian TV ad spend fell by 61% in Q2 2020. This comes as sports sponsorship investment rose 17.4% in 2019 to reach ₹9,000 crores for the first time.
Indian brands looking to supplement their sports advertising strategy should consider e-sports, a format that has seen strong growth this year. Sponsoring an IPL team and engaging consumers with digital challenges proved effective for Colors, the Indian TV entertainment channel. Colors sponsored the Mumbai Indians team and created the Colors Premier League, an online game that lets users score runs while watching Colors TV shows with prizes including tickets to see the Mumbai Indians live.
While the pandemic continues to test India and the world’s patience and immunity levels, the sport has certainly shown itself to be the great unifier that it has always been
