IPL 201: Star India registers historic viewership figures in the first week

A lot has changed in the eleventh edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL). Not only are Chennai Super Kings and Rajasthan Royals back it is Star India that has taken over the rights to broadcast the tournament for the first time. It was with Sony for the first decade and when the window finally opened Star put in a bid worth more than Rs 16,000 crores to bag it for the next five years. Having invested that kind of money the channel is doing all in its power to reach out to audiences that remained untapped in the past.

Their efforts have earned them rich dividends as the first week of IPL 2018 registered a historic opening. Over 371 million viewers watched the matches combined on TV & Hotstar their live streaming app. In split up – the TV viewership was at 288.4 million (BARC 2+ U+R) whereas Hotstar catered to 82.4 million people. Star announced that it is the highest ever viewership for the first week of the tournament.

10 channels 6 languages

Sanjay Gupta, MD, Star India was an elated man. They took a huge risk with the kind of money they invested not just in procuring the rights but also to broadcast the show on 10 channels in 6 different languages. Star has also roped in top commentators and experts over 100 in number from around the world who present their views and analyse every aspect of the game for the fans.

While making the announcement Gupta said, “We sought to re-imagine the way IPL was presented to fans and are delighted with how fans have responded across both TV and Hotstar, helping us set new viewership and conversation benchmarks. The consumption growth is a truly satisfying yardstick of unmatched fan delight and value for brands.”

He further added that “Even though it is early days, this has already become the most watched IPL ever on a tournament to date basis, and we hope to continue to engage fans powered by localization and technology across TV and Hotstar.”

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