IPL 2019 Opening Weekend Garners 219 Million Viewers

The opening weekend of the 12th season of Vivo IPL 2019 broke all existing viewership records. 219 million viewers (All India 2+ U+ R) tuned in on the opening weekend, which was 31 percent higher than last year. Specifically on an opening day, reach in HSM grew by 30 percent, while in South the reach grew by 20 percent, driven by a strong regionalization strategy. Apart from the robust growth in reach, viewership (as measured by Impressions) also grew by 29 percent.

On the back of a successful marketing campaign, ‘Game Banayega Name’, India tuned in to make the opening weekend the highest ever watched in the history of the tournament. A great leveler and reflective of young and fearless India in every sphere, the campaign culminated in a Dhoni vs Kohli fan face-off, featuring the two legends themselves inviting viewers to tune in for the opening encounter on March 23, 2019.

In 2019, the regionalization story was strengthened with the introduction of Marathi and Malayalam taking the total number of languages to 8 (English, Hindi, Tamil, Telugu, Kannada, Bengali being the other languages), which is the maximum for any sport tournament till date.

Additionally, Star curated a special feed targeting families and kids on Star Gold to invite a wider section of audiences. The first episode of ‘Sunday Funday’was broadcast on the opening weekend to give viewers a fresh and relatable experience to Vivo IPL 2019. As part of the feed, an exclusive show – ‘Meet the Khelkars’ – had cricketing legends Irfan Pathan, Virender Sehwag and Krishnamachari Srikkanth talking about their cricketing journey in a fun and light-hearted manner.

Making it a truly global extravaganza, the commentary roster for Vivo IPL 2019 features over 100 experts from India and across the globe.The #SelectDugout meant for the ardent cricket fan who is always looking for more, also received an overwhelming response from the fans with the introduction of Brendon McCullum to the likes of Gautam Gambhir, Dean Jones, Kumar Sangakkara, Scott Styris, Anil Kumble, etc.

Coverage figures/ reach are for TV + OOH at 2+ U+R level 

Opening match refers to Match 1 of Vivo IPL 2019 between Chennai Super Kings and Royal Challengers Bangalore L/T VIVO IPL-12 T20 RCB/CSK-CH, Only Match Telecast Hours considered 

Opening Weekend refers to March 23 and 24, 2019 for Vivo IPL 2019, Only Match Telecast Hours considered 

Viewership impressions in ‘000 as measured for match telecast hours only on the IPL Channel Bouquet – Asianet Plus, Star Suvarna, Star Suvarna HD, Jalsha Movies, Jalsha Movies HD, Star Maa Movies, Star Maa Movies HD, Star Gold HD, Star Gold, Star Pravah, Star Sports 1, Star Sports 1 Tamil, Star Sports 1 Kannada, Star Sports 1 Telugu, Star Sports 1 Bangla, Star Sports 2(v), Star Sports 1 Hindi, Star Sports 1 HD, Star Sports 2 HD(v), Star Sports 1 HD Hindi, Star Sports Select 1 HD, Star Sports Select 1 SD, Star Vijay Super, Hungama. 

For the growth vs last year, the comparison has been done with Coverage (in Mn) of Star Channels excluding DD on TV versus TV + OOH of this year.―Adgully