Champions trophy brings viewership

TVR of final IPL match which was broadcast in Set Max and Sony Six was higher at 6.9

Despite fears that cricket viewership would be eroded due to the Indian Premier League (IPL) match fixing controversy,  India’s thrilling win over England in the Champions’ Trophy, has proved sceptics wrong.

According to Star Sports the two channels Star Sports 2 and Star Cricket together hit a  television viewership ratings  (TVR) based on measurement agency Television Audience Measurement (TAM)  of 4.9 for  the final match which was reduced to just a twenty over game  due to heavy rains.

While the TVR of the final IPL match which was broadcast in Set Max and Sony Six was higher at 6.9, the Champions Trophy figures of Star does not include millions of others who might have seen it on Doordarshan. And if , those in the know are to be believed it has trumped IPL's TVR for the final match.  

The Champions Trophy tournament averaged a TVR of 2 for Star which is 13% higher than the average rating clocked by the previous installment of the tournament. For IPL 6 however the average TVR was 3 .  

The Champions Trophy was seen by 109.8 million as compared to 78.5 million in its last edition  The India matches of the Champions’ Trophy averaged at 3.5 TVR while the non India matches registered a TVR of 1.3.  The message was clear: this year Champions Trophy viewership has seen a major increase despite the fact that there are many matches where India was not playing.  

Speaking on the ICC Champions Trophy, Vijay Rajput, Chief Operating Officer, ESPN Software India Pvt Ltd, said, “The ICC Champions Trophy has proved to be a stupendous success for us with Team India displaying a power-packed performance right through this marquee tournament. As the new Team India turned on the heat, cricket fans were glued to the TV broadcast with the final delivering the highest rating for any ODI this year - despite a rain delay and a late start which had the match ending well past midnight in India.”

According to sources within the industry, the final match ad spots were sold at a premium of 40-50% over the other matches. This amounts to nearly Rs 6.5 to 7 lakh for a ten second spot for the finals and other matches at Rs 4 to 5 lakh.

Both the tournaments had undertaken extensive marketing campaigns with Star having the ‘Zor Lagao, Champions Banao’ tagline and Max splurging on the ‘Sirf Dekhneka Nahi…Jumping Jhapak’ chorus. Star also had special programs in the lead-up like Champions Ka Champion and Jai Ho highlighting India’s CT exploits in the past helped in getting audience traction in time for the main event.