Decoding IPL ratings: What drives the viewership?
Guest Column: Rajiv Gopinath, CCO, Publicis Media Services, shares insights from a study on IPL viewership
Understanding what drives television ratings for the Indian Premier League (IPL) is crucial in optimizing broadcast strategies, advertising, and scheduling. By employing regression analysis, this study uncovers significant factors that influence IPL TV ratings. The study was undertaken for the first 59 matches of IPL 2024.
After considering a list of possible factors, from social media following, to match-timings, to the home-ground effect and so many more, we present our results.
Key Takeaways:
- Time of Matches: The timings of the matches play a critical role. Matches held on weekdays and Friday plus weekend evenings generate more viewership than weekend afternoon matches.
- Team Performance: Certain IPL teams (notably CSK, RCB, MI and KKR) have a pronounced effect on TV ratings, suggesting that the popularity or performance of these teams can significantly attract or deter viewers.
- Match Dynamics:
- The number of runs scored in a game appears to hold a notable relationship with viewership, hinting that higher-scoring games are more likely to retain audience interest.
- The study also takes into account several time effects or 'effects over the span of the tournament,' where initial stages of the tournament have a more substantial impact than later parts.
- Statistically first 30 matches of IPL would perform the strongest with diminishing ratings thereafter (up to 60 matches). Ratings would gradually pick up in the matches leading into knockouts and finals.
Statistical Robustness
The model demonstrates strong explanatory power, with a high proportion of variability in TV ratings explained by the independent variables considered, achieving an R2 of 90%.
Conclusion
Our study presents strong evidence that the scheduling of the matches, specific team matchups, and the nature of the game itself can significantly influence the TV ratings for IPL games.
Disclaimer: The views expressed here are solely those of the author and do not in any way represent the views of exchange4media.com
