The Indian Premier League’s (IPL’s) digital broadcaster, JioCinema, part of the Viacom18 network, saw 113 million viewers log into the first match of the tournament on Friday, a year-on-year growth of 51%. The record numbers come on the back of the IPL free streaming initiative by JioCinema, which is happening for the second year in a row.
Last year, 75 million viewers had logged into the JioCinema application to view the opening match, which was played between Chennai Super Kings and Gujarat Titans at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad. That match was won by Gujarat Titan by five wickets.
On Friday, Chennai Super Kings squared off against the Royal Challengers Bangalore at the MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai, beating the latter by six wickets. Over 590 million video views were recorded on the platform for the opening day of the tournament, JioCinema said, which led to 660 million minutes of watch time. TV viewership numbers are likely to come next week. Disney Star is the official TV broadcaster of the IPL.
“The numbers indicate that there is no better way to experience the IPL than digital,” a Viacom18 spokesperson, said, adding: “Benchmarks could be reset through the course of this season.” A total of 449 million viewers had watched the IPL 2023 season on JioCinema, with connected TV adoption also growing, the broadcaster had said.
This year, JioCinema began its IPL campaign with 18 sponsors and over 250 advertisers. This includes Dream11, Charged by Thums Up, Parle Products, Britannia and HDFC Bank, among others.
Some of them also debuted their IPL advertising within the first six overs of the opening match under a Brand Spotlight initiative, JioCinema said. The over-the-top platform has 12 language feeds of the tournament apart from multi-camera options and a 4K version to draw viewers this year.
Rival Disney Star, meanwhile, onboarded 15 sponsors for the IPL this year and has tied up with Tata Play for a 4K platform service. The two networks have also joined hands to introduce targeted advertising on linear TV during live IPL broadcasts, providing advertisers with access to premium audiences in top eight metro cities.
“Tata Play’s affluent viewer base in metropolitan areas, coupled with its precision in reaching these audiences, unlocks exciting advertising opportunities for Star Sports as far as the IPL goes,” Ajit Varghese, head of network advertising sales at Disney Star, said.