The Indian Premier League 2020 (IPL-13) is being played without spectators in the UAE as the COVID pandemic sweeps through India, however the positive news is that TV and smart phone viewers have increased compared to the equivalent tournament last year.
The BARC-Nielsen Edition 12 – IPL 2020 report, which focuses on television viewership and smartphone trends for the first week of IPL-13, reports that 269 million viewers watched IPL in its opening week. In the opening week 15% growth was witnessed in viewing minutes compared to 2019.
The tournament registered 60.6 billion viewing minutes across seven matches and 21 channels. The viewership is much higher despite one less match and fewer channels compared to 2019. The report stated that 1 in 3 viewers and 44% of the households watched IPL live on TV.
The report also reveals that the opening match which was played on 19 September between Mumbai Indians and Chennai Super Kings garnered a viewership of 52 million impressions that is 29% higher than 2019 and watched by 158 million viewers.
Advertising volume has also seen a spike. The BARC-Neilson report puts the total advertising volume for IPL-13 opening week at 15% higher than the 2019 equivalent. The growth is witnessed in ad volumes across all the matches. Both Advertiser and Brand counts increased compared to the earlier season
Smartphone usage is up 8% whereas video streaming is 13% up versus recent weeks. Massive gains are seen in the audience base for Hotstar, Sports Apps and Fantasy Sports.
The overall user base saw an increase of 32% in the OTT apps, a 99% increase on Hotstar +Disney, 92% in Sports apps and 80% in fantasy.
John Stephenson
john@cricketinvestor.co.uk
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