Marginal increase in IPL 11’s first week television viewership

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NEWDELHI: Sony Six HD, Sony ESPN and Sony ESPN HD, according to data released by television viewership measurement agency Broadcast Audience Research Council (BARC) India on Thursday.

Media buyers expected a higher increase in viewership given that number of channels that aired the tournament increased from five to eleven.

“IPL will garner decent viewership but the difference is, with the number of channels almost doubling, one was expecting a better increase in viewership. However, its only the first eight matches. The interest in IPL increases as the tournament progresses,” said Anita Nayyar, chief executive officer of Havas Media Group, India and South Asia. Nayyar added that IPL has always been a great opportunity for advertisers.

For an 11-year old media property even the 8% growth in TV viewership augurs well. IPL 11 has seen stronger growth in urban Indian audiences which is its core audience, said a person close to the development on condition of anonymity.

The opening match between Mumbai Indians and Chennai Super Kings recorded the maximum viewership among the eight matches at 35.9 million impressions, followed by the third match on Sunday evening between Royal Challengers Bangalore and Kolkata Knight Riders at 35.1 million impressions. Both matches were aired across 11 channels including DD Sports.