According to various industry experts and sources, the 13th edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL 2020) created Rs. 3100 Cr of advertisement revenue for Star India (Both Television & Hotstar Combine).
The data gathered from various industry analysts, IPL 2020 advertising deals, and from Star-in sources indicates that Star India handled television advertising revenues worth 2550 Cr and another 500-550 Cr from Hotstar ad-sales. As is the standard for Disney-Star India, despite repeated attempts by InsideSport to officially take on the advertisement revenues for IPL 2020, they are not ready to comment on the advertising numbers.
It is worth noting that both broadcast and Hotstar combine reportedly delivered 2200 Cr of advertisement revenue in IPL 2019 from Star India.
Star roped in 18 sponsors before the start of the tournament in IPL 2020 and signed up 117 advertisers as well. Also, in IPL 2019, 13 on-air sponsors were signed by Star India. At IPL 2020, Dream11, PhonePe, BYJU’S, VI, and Amazon were among the co-presenting sponsors, while Mondelez, ITC Foods, Polycab, Diageo, P&G, Coca Cola, Hero, Facebook, KP Group, Daily Hunt, Samsung, Cred and AMFI were among the associate sponsors.
“The IPL has delivered brilliant viewing figures. According to our estimates, the growth in viewership is 25 percent. But this growth will only be reflected some extent in Star’s advertising revenues. Before IPL started, they had locked up 85% of the deals. So they could only sell a premium inventory of 15 percent. But the figures for IPL 2020 really augur well for IPL 2021, said one of the major media planners on condition of anonymity.
“The audience figures for IPL 2020 also shocked everyone. “Star India’s revenue growth will only be in percentage terms in a single digit, but I’m sure they now have a chance to lift the prices for the next season,” another industry expert told InsideSport.
IPL 13 reported 7.0 billion viewing minutes for the first 41 matches aired across 21 channels in the last five weeks (Week 38-42), which is 28 percent higher compared to IPL 12, which garnered 5.5 billion viewing minutes for 44 matches aired across 24 channels, as per the Broadcast Audience Research Council (BARC) India results.
The data shows that IPL 13’s average per match is higher than the previous season. For 41 matches, the cumin range of IPL 13 was 108 million, 11 percent higher than IPL 12. 98 million cume reach was recorded in the previous season.
The number of advertisers and brands increased by 12 percent and 2 percent respectively, compared to the previous season, according to recent data given by TAM on IPL 13 for the first 52 matches. In the meantime, the total number of advertisers and brands in IPL 13 stood at 115 & 237, respectively, compared to 103 and 232 in IPL 12. The total category count (89) for IPL 13, however, was less than the 91 for the last season.
The audience spike has also enabled Dream11 to register a large increase in traffic and interaction on the website. Compared to the final match of IPL 2019, the site experienced a 44.4 percent rise in traffic volume and reached 5.3 million+ user competitiveness.
