)
Multi Screen Media (MSM), the official broadcaster of the Pepsi Indian Premier League (IPL) in the Indian subcontinent, had positioned this year's edition as 'India ka tyohaar'. And, the tournament has given the company enough reason to celebrate: According to data provided by television ratings agency TAM, television viewership (TVR) for this year's IPL has risen 42 per cent compared to the last edition.
Last year, the IPL was held in two tranches, the first in the United Arab Emirates (since it coincided with general elections in India) and the second in India. For the first five matches, it had recorded a decline in ratings - from 3.8 TVR in 2013 to 3.1 TVR. This year, the first five matches of the tournament, which began on April 8, averaged 4.5 TVR, 42 per cent more than the 2014 edition's average rating of 3.1 TVR.
Viewership is the percentage of people watching the tournament at any given point. Data on this are for the 'all-India' market and take into consideration cable and satellite audience (male and female) aged more than four. The tournament's reach (the number of people who saw the programme for at least a minute) has risen nine per cent - from 96 million last year to 105 million in 2015.
Reacting to the ratings, MSM president Rohitt Gupta says, "The IPL, as I have said earlier, too, is now a mature tournament. It is expected to see growth year-on-year. What is more encouraging is it has managed to see an increase in stickiness with viewers. Not only is the number of people sampling it increasing, the time spent on watching the matches is also rising."
For the first five matches, the average time spent per viewer has increased 22 per cent year-on-year.
According to TAM data, in 2014, the average time spent per viewer for the first five matches last year was 42:27 minutes; this season, it is 51:44 minutes.
This year, the IPL is being broadcast in five languages. While Sony Max continues to provide Hindi feed and Sony Six English feed, Sony Aath, the network's Bengali general entertainment channel, is broadcasting Bengali feed. Additionally, MSM launched a second sports channel, Sony Kix, to provide Tamil and Telegu feed.
"Since it's very new, Sony Kix is not being measured. However, viewership on the Hindi and English feed has seen an increase and the Bengali feed has also helped add viewers. About 70 per cent of the total viewership still comes from the Hindi feed.
The Bengali feed accounts for just under 10 per cent; the rest is English," says a planner on condition of anonymity.
What does a rise in viewership and reach mean for ad-sales teams? Gupta says as nearly the entire inventory for league matches has been sold, there is no chance of an increase in ad rates.
"It's a risk we had to take. Even in the case of the last four matches, very little inventory is left," he says.
This year, sponsors have spent Rs 4.75 lakh for a 10-second spot, while spot advertisers have to spend Rs 5.2-5.5 lakh for a 10-second spot. As MSM has sold sponsorships at a network level, all the 12 on-air sponsors will be visible on different MSM channels showing the tournament.
The co-presenting sponsorship comes at a hefty Rs 60 crore, while associate sponsorship costs Rs 30-35 crore, say sources.
While Amazon and Vodafone have continued their association as co-presenters, seven new brands have come on board as associate sponsors - Magicbricks, Cardekho, Paytm, Vimal Pan Masala, Raymond, Hero MotoCorp and Intex.
