The ongoing Indian Premier League (IPL) T-20 tournament has opened to the lowest average television viewership ratings (TVRs) in its four-year history, worrying media buying firms and advertisers who have spent Rs 800-900 crore for on-air advertising.
Data released by TAM Sports , the industry benchmark agency that measures television viewership, say the first 15 IPL matches recorded a TVR of 4.36, almost 18% lower than last season. The ratings are for six metros. This is also a tad lower than the second season when the tournament was shifted to South Africa.
Punitha Arumugam, CEO of Madison Media Group , which buys ad spots for brands like Cadbury, Bharti Airtel and ITC, said: "It is a little worrying as the average TVR is lower than the previous seasons. It could be because of too many teams and too many matches. But we are hoping the ratings will pick up as the tournament progresses." She added that if the TVRs remain lower, it could impact official broadcaster SET MAX's ability to charge a premium for the remaining inventory as well as the next season.
Drop in viewership ratings was contributed by both male and female viewers. Viewership among males above the age of 15 is down 11% while viewership ratings among women and kids has fallen by a little over 11% over the previous season.
Dentsu Media CEO Sanjoy Chakrabarty said he expected IPL viewership ratings to be similar to the last season at best. It was highly unlikely that they would be higher, Chakrabarty added. Dentsu Media is the media buyer for Aircel , Honda and Toyota .
SET MAX attributes the drop in rating to higher number of afternoon matches. "In the month of April, there have been more afternoon matches, which has led to a slight drop. The evening games are doing very well. In May, there are more evening matches and the ratings will even out," said Rohit Gupta, president-network sales, SET MAX.
Gupta added that the absolute reach of IPL has grown by 15% as 125 million viewers had tuned in to watch the first fifteen matches across the country, he said.
The channel has roped in advertisers at a significant premium over last season, riding on the tournament's high viewership ratings during the past seasons.
Television spots have been sold at Rs 5-6 lakh per ten seconds to large sponsors. Vodafone is the presenting sponsor for the fourth season and has been a key advertiser for several seasons. "The viewership is subdued since IPL is coming after World Cup. Cricket buffs have already spent their emotional energy cheering for the Indian team," said Anuradha Aggarwal, vice-president - marketing, brand communication and consumer insights, Vodafone. She added that the school exams also lead to restricted television viewing in homes and hopes the momentum will pick up once school vacations begin.
"We bought IPL before the World Cup. We knew unlike previous years, IPL was not the first major cricket tournament in the year and it could have an impact on viewership," she added.
Data released by TAM Sports , the industry benchmark agency that measures television viewership, say the first 15 IPL matches recorded a TVR of 4.36, almost 18% lower than last season. The ratings are for six metros. This is also a tad lower than the second season when the tournament was shifted to South Africa.
Punitha Arumugam, CEO of Madison Media Group , which buys ad spots for brands like Cadbury, Bharti Airtel and ITC, said: "It is a little worrying as the average TVR is lower than the previous seasons. It could be because of too many teams and too many matches. But we are hoping the ratings will pick up as the tournament progresses." She added that if the TVRs remain lower, it could impact official broadcaster SET MAX's ability to charge a premium for the remaining inventory as well as the next season.
Drop in viewership ratings was contributed by both male and female viewers. Viewership among males above the age of 15 is down 11% while viewership ratings among women and kids has fallen by a little over 11% over the previous season.
Dentsu Media CEO Sanjoy Chakrabarty said he expected IPL viewership ratings to be similar to the last season at best. It was highly unlikely that they would be higher, Chakrabarty added. Dentsu Media is the media buyer for Aircel , Honda and Toyota .
SET MAX attributes the drop in rating to higher number of afternoon matches. "In the month of April, there have been more afternoon matches, which has led to a slight drop. The evening games are doing very well. In May, there are more evening matches and the ratings will even out," said Rohit Gupta, president-network sales, SET MAX.
Gupta added that the absolute reach of IPL has grown by 15% as 125 million viewers had tuned in to watch the first fifteen matches across the country, he said.
The channel has roped in advertisers at a significant premium over last season, riding on the tournament's high viewership ratings during the past seasons.
Television spots have been sold at Rs 5-6 lakh per ten seconds to large sponsors. Vodafone is the presenting sponsor for the fourth season and has been a key advertiser for several seasons. "The viewership is subdued since IPL is coming after World Cup. Cricket buffs have already spent their emotional energy cheering for the Indian team," said Anuradha Aggarwal, vice-president - marketing, brand communication and consumer insights, Vodafone. She added that the school exams also lead to restricted television viewing in homes and hopes the momentum will pick up once school vacations begin.
"We bought IPL before the World Cup. We knew unlike previous years, IPL was not the first major cricket tournament in the year and it could have an impact on viewership," she added.
