Season 5 the of Indian Premier League (IPL) has failed to live up to expectations of criket fans ? at least that is what comes to the fore if latest TV viership ratings are to be believed.
According to data released by TAM Sports, a unit of television audience measurement agency TAM Media Research, viwers are shying away from watching IPL cricket matches as its novelty value wears off and fatigue sets in.
IPL?s fifth season got off to a damp start in six matches played as average viewership sank to the lowest since it started in 2008, the data show. IPL 5 has clocked in an average viewership of 3.76 TRPs (television rating points), measured on time spent by a viewer for a particular programme.
TRPs of every show add up to constitute the overall gross rating points (GRPs) of a channel.
Viewership of the first six matches of IPL 5 declined 19% from 4.63 TRPs last year, and 33% from 5.59 TRPs in 2008. The tournament has reached 90.1 million viewers so far against 101.7 million viewers reached in 2011.
Sports consultants say cricket fatigue and Team India?s poor performance in matches played overseas before the IPL began has put off many sports entusiasts.
Season 5 kicked off in a different style this year with a separate opening ceremony organised a day before the first match between Mumbai Indians and Chennai Super Kings, but ended up poorer compared with the ratings achieved in Season 4. The opening ceremony was a dampener with only 1.17 TRPs recorded for the event.
?IPL?s novelty value is wearing off and viewer fatigue is setting in,? said Rakesh Jariwala, leader (sports and films) at audit and consulting firm Ernst & Young. ?Even Bollywood films are releasing during the IPL season, which was an absolute no-no in the first few years.?
He said the orgnisers of IPL need not be alarmed yet, but the tournament has surely lost its sheen over the years.
However, Multi Screen Media (MSM), the owner of SET Max, the official broadcaster, is confident that ratings will pick up as the tournament progresses. ?It is too early to determine viewership trends,? said Rohit Gupta, president, MSM. ?There are 70 more matches to go and viewership will surely pick up in 15-20 days.?
