Mumbai: IPL returns with broadcasters targeting 70M untapped homes, focusing on viewer data to boost ratings, especially for marquee matchups.
Mumbai: It’s that time of the year when the nation’s favourite summer pastime comes back to life. Even as the Indian Premier League (IPL) celebrates adulthood with the new edition getting underway on Saturday, the broadcasters are eyeing 70 million untapped TV homes and 250-300 mobile devices yet to press the download IPL button.
Teams of all IPL teams pose for a photograph with trophy ahead of the 2025 edition in Mumbai. (IPL)
But this appointment viewing is an output of accurate scheduling that is formulated after sifting through multiple excel sheets studying viewer demographics and franchise affinity.
Did you know the afternoon matches get 40 percent fewer viewers than evening matches? Even the MI-CSK rivalry wouldn’t do any better if you made them brave the heat. Sunday double-headers fare a little better. The drop in viewership for Sunday afternoon matches is less (28-30 percent), but still significant. These are insights that serve as a guide for broadcast programming. It also explains why there are only 12 double headers this year; nine of them are scheduled for Sunday viewing.
“Rather than calling it a 74-match tournament with games being played every day, we divide them into what we call marquee games-typically games played between the four most popular teams RCB, MI, CSK and KKR, treating them as spikes,” said Sanjog Gupta, CEO, Sports, Jio Star.
Typically, a MI-CSK or RCB-CSK match is watched by 50 percent more viewers than a PBKS-LSG match. The IPL may be the most watched tournament in Indian sport, spanning two months, but the heavy lifting in viewership is done by the Big Four franchises. CSK and MI for their success record under fan favourites MS Dhoni and Rohit Sharma, RCB for Virat Kohli’s unmatched fandom and KKR for many factors, foremost being owner Shah Rukh Khan’s appeal.
“It actually comes from our learnings from ICC events where India matches have a spike, non-India matches are rated not as high but because the India matches do well, they also work,” said Gupta. “We have created an equivalent of India matches in the IPL and those are the bigger events. The way we will market and build up a MI-CSK match will not be the same as a PBKS-CSK match.”
In the middle of the season, when viewer fatigue sets in, the big clashes are billed as ‘the rivalry week’. The broadcasters are candid enough to contest those who question why some teams are projected more. “The Premier League is a great example,” said Gupta. “You can’t compare Manchester United with Nottingham Forest even though they may be below them on the points table. United has the fans. Some teams will have more popularity. By investing in them, you are pulling up the entire tournament.”
While RCB’s first title is still awaited, Sunrisers Hyderabad are a fine example who shone through last year riding on their high-octane brand of cricket and Pat Cummins’ popularity as a World Cup winning captain. SRH became the fourth-most watched team in IPL 2024.
There may be some nervousness amongst stakeholders as this will be the first year after teams have been rejigged following the mega auction. In 2022, there was a 16-18 percent drop in viewership because all the captains and major players other than the big three had switched teams. It didn’t help that there were two new teams too, with no fan affiliation. Gujarat Titans, even though they won the IPL, rated poorly in viewership.
“We have actually brought it back,” said Gupta. “There has been a 40 percent growth in viewership from 2018 to 2024 despite matches going up from 60 to 74. You have to work on building affiliation for the new franchises. We have worked with GT and LSG to build their fan following.”
