Star India strategises to scale IPL 2018 viewership

The Indian Premier League (IPL) has been a massive extravaganza in India ever since its inception in 2008. Ever since the TRP’s and popularity have soared and the cash-rich league has seen considerable success over the years. Sony used to broadcast the games of the event, which last for approximately one and half months from April to May. However, most recently, in an auction for the IPL media rights, STAR India bagged the honours.

They bagged the deal for 16348 crores, edging out Sony who were involved in a bidding war with the new broadcasters of the star-studded tournament. Quite rightly, as per reports in Broadcast&CableSat, STAR India have started strategising on the ways to generate revenue through the league.

A full-fledged strategy in place

“The IPL is the biggest property in India and the challenge we had in front of us was to reimagine it and more importantly scale it up. From two languages in 2017, we will be taking it to 6 languages in 2018 across 10 channels. And when I say 6 languages, I mean six different feeds, each with localized packaging, commentary and pre/post programming,” says Star India MD Sanjay Gupta. Gupta says that the investment scaling up the property is huge, “but nothing compared to Rs 55 crore a match (in rights fee).” quoted by Sanjay Gupta, MD of STAR India.

He also emphasised on the benefits that the sports brands are most likely to reap out of STAR India’s policies for the upcoming IPL season. “I think with a longer calendar for the IPL and six language feeds, we are opening the scope for all 200 sports relevant brands and those beyond them too, to advertise on the IPL,” the Managing Director added.

Three months down the down, the event will enter its eleventh season. News pertaining to player retentions and the auctions have been grabbing the headlines for the past few days and the tournament is expected to generate significant buzz as the eleventh season comes closer.