IPL 2009: Opening matches score much lower than season one
The opening numbers of the Indian Premier League (IPL) Season 2 at the all India level do not throw any different trends from what was seen in the six metro markets that were released earlier this week. IPL 2 has opened to lower numbers than Season 1. The digital households have shown higher ratings than the analog homes. A market break-up shows that many markets have not responded to IPL’s opening matches.
Many in the ratings economy might have been hoping that the all India opening numbers of the Indian Premier League Season 2 would have a better show than what the six metro numbers, which were released earlier this week, had shown. However, the trends are not very different in the all-India data either. IPL 2 has opened to lower numbers than what was seen in Season 1.
At an overall market level, for the C&S 4+ in the all India market, the first match (Mumbai Indians Vs Chennai Super Kings) rated 5.09 TRPs, while the second match (Rajasthan Royals Vs Royal Challengers) rated 5.25 TRPs.
At an overall level, the digital households have shown ratings far higher than the analog homes at the all India level as well. The first match scored 7.05 in digital homes, while the second match delivered 7.08 TRPS. In the analog homes, the first match got as low as 4.93 TRPs, while the second match got 5.10 TRPs.
One point that needs further attention is that markets such as Andhra Pradesh, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, smaller pockets of Rajasthan and Bihar have not responded to IPL in the way that was expected.
Even though many are still sure that IPL numbers would pick up in the subsequent matches, at present, these numbers have raised many questions. Has the confusion before the matches and the missing on-ground euphoria taken its toll on the numbers? Is the reason as simple as the poor quality of the opening matches that did not make for a good watch? Was something missing in connecting with the audience due to which some markets did not respond well to the IPL?
Watch this space as we get the experts to take on some of these questions.
