After initial hiccups, viewership of the second edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL-2) has picked up pace with the cricket carnival having reached midway. The peak ratings, seen mostly in the last few minutes of the game, are now consistently touching 6, which is nearly double of the average match ratings on SET MAX, the host broadcaster for IPL.
However, the average rating has come down from 3.9 in the beginning to 3.2 now. Still, these ratings are higher compared to any show on TV across genres like entertainment and movies. The average rating for general entertainment programs, for instance, is 2.5. SET MAX President Rohit Gupta said: “Even the share of news channels has not gone up with all the election programming. So there is no better place for advertisers than SET MAX.
Also, more than half the matches of the 24 played so far have delivered a higher average rating compared to IPL-1, according to data provided by Audience Measurement and Analytics Ltd (aMap), the overnight TV viewership measurement company. This has happened even after two of these matches were cancelled and the duration of another five was reduced due to rain.
According to the aMap data, so far the cumulative reach of IPL-2 has been more than 21 per cent compared to IPL-1. In terms of numbers, IPL-2 has reached nearly 155 million viewers so far, compared to 128 million viewers of IPL-1 after the first 24 matches. Also, over 220 to 240 advertising spots are being played during each of the IPL-2 matches, compared to 180-200 advertising spots in IPL-1.
According to the data, the top advertisers on SET MAX so far have been telecom service providers including Vodafone and Bharti Airtel, Hyundai Motors, Hindustan Unilever, Coca-Cola, Havell’s and Pepsi.
| BACK IN THE BUSINESS | ||||
| IPL 2009 | IPL 2008 | |||
| Match | Cumulative reach on SET Max* | Avg Match TRP** | Cumulative reach on SET Max* | Avg Match TRP** |
| 1 to 5 | 35.0 | 3.9 | 28.1 | 3.9 |
| 6 to 10 | 62.4 | 2.8 | 59.5 | 4.0 |
| 11 to 15 | 91.4 | 2.9 | 85.7 | 3.1 |
| 16 to 20 | 126.2 | 3.5 | 117.5 | 3.4 |
| 21-24 | 155.4 | 3.2 | 128.6 | 3.9 |
| Source: aMap for matches played between April 18 and May 1, Cable Home, 15+ (ratings), Cable Home 4+ (for reach) | ||||
Commenting on the viewers’ response on IPL-2, Vivek Srivastava, the joint-managing director of Innocean Worldwide India, the in-house advertising arm of Hyundai Motors, said: “We are pleased with the response. It has delivered more or less according to our expectations and what our media agency had said. We hope that the coverage of IPL-2 will become even stronger as the tournament moves ahead.”
Hyundai is one of the on-air associate sponsors of IPL-2 on SET MAX. It was also an associate sponsor during IPL-1. As a result, the TV creatives of Hyundai get prominence as all associate sponsors get nearly 200-plus seconds of ensured spots during each IPL match, advertising industry sources said.
Explaining the impact of IPL-2 viewership on brands, a senior executive of a leading media agency said: “Last year, the analysis of IPL-1 viewership indicated the inclusion of women audience in large numbers. And considering the evening telecast of IPL-2, not only mobile services and automobile but consumer goods are also generating a healthy recall among the viewership profile of 15 years and above.”
The initial viewership ratings provided by both aMap and TAM Media had showed a 20-40 per cent dip in the ratings for IPL-2 compared to IPL-1. Because of this, there was panic among advertisers and media planners.
