JioCinema, the official digital streaming partner of TATA IPL 2024, has reported a record number of 18 sponsors and over 250 advertisers for the upcoming season. Notably, this season has not only witnessed advertiser interest for TATA IPL from conventional, digitally-inclined categories such as automobiles, mobile handsets, banking, online broking and trading, credit card payment, and construction but also categories that typically invest in traditional mediums such as FMCG, evidencing shift in advertising dynamics in India.
Last year, JioCinema booked a record digital ad revenue compared to that of any other live-streamed event previously.
“While last year showed us digital came of age, this season of the TATA IPL is telling us a story that digital is going to be everyone’s primary choice, be it for viewing or advertising. It is beyond doubt that India now prefers watching the TATA IPL on their mobile devices and connected TV’s and advertisers have skewed their spends towards where the consumers are. The aggressive innovation that we are bringing to the TATA IPL viewing experience, coupled with the efforts we have invested in removing barriers to advertising on digital and democratising it, promises digital ad spending to only head on an upwards trajectory from here every season,” a Viacom18 spokesperson said.
JioCinema’s list of digital streaming sponsors for the 2024 TATA IPL season includes Dream11 as a co-presenting sponsor, while Tata Motors, PayZapp by HDFC Bank, SBI, Cred, AMFI, Upstox, Charged by Thums Up, Britannia, Pepsi, Parle products, Google Pixel, Haier, Jindal Steel, Vodafone, Dalmia Cements, Kamla Pasand and Rapido have joined hands as associate sponsors. Additionally, JioCinema is in advanced discussions with multiple other brands and more are expected to join before the first ball is bowled this TATA IPL beginning on March 22.
With the online fantasy gaming category leading the charge yet again this season, Dream11, MyTeam11, and My11Circle have put their faith in the power of LIVE sport on digital streaming yet again to engage with the sports fans.
Speaking on the association with JioCinema, Mayank Shah, vice president, Parle Products said, “TATA IPL on JioCinema is a fabulous opportunity for brands like ours to drive unprecedented awareness in India. With a significant shift that’s happening towards digital consumption, and cricket consistently staying the most engaging content in the country, this partnership will help us take our brands to consumers when they’re most receptive to our message.”
Other major brands from the automobile category such as Maruti, Apollo Tyres, Ashok Leyland, and JK tyres are also driving in with JioCinema to maximise mileage on their advertising spend. In the competitive arenas of banking, payments, online trading, and credit card payments, brands including PayZapp by HDFC Bank, SBI, Cred, AMFI, ICICI Mutual Fund, and LIC are strategically placing their investments with JioCinema, leveraging the platform to connect with audiences in real-time.
This year also marks the resurgence of the premium mobile handset category with upmarket brands such as Google Pixel, Apple, Motorola, and Vivo, all poised to dial up their marketing endeavours to unprecedented heights. In the beverage category, the platform has witnessed increased spend this year with Coca-Cola taking the energy drinks category and PepsiCo locking out the cola category.
The increase in interest for advertising on digital not only stems from increased efforts by JioCinema to remove major barriers to advertising, but also its world-class presentation of the marquee T20 league through a 12-language presentation, including Haryanvi joining the line-up this year. Apart from this, JioCinema will continue offering the league for free to viewers.
“HDFC Bank is planning to launch an integrated campaign for its digital payments app, PayZapp in the upcoming IPL season. JioCinema offers its viewers multiple choices in the way they want to watch the IPL, be it camera angles, languages, or more and hence we feel it is an ideal match to deliver our brand promise. It does offer huge reach across handheld, web and connected TV which along with our presence on traditional channels will ensure that we reach the consumers across multiple touchpoints in their TATA IPL followership,” Ravi Santhanam, group head, CMO, head-direct to consumer business, HDFC Bank, added.
Moreover, TATA IPL 2024 will commence on JioCinema with the southern derby as MS Dhoni’s Chennai Super Kings face off with Royal Challengers Bengaluru on March 22, 2024.