Will IPL 2024 be the big shot in the arm for CTV?

Small and large screens at homes, restaurants, bars, gymnasia, and other public and private spaces across the country are screening Indian Premier League 2024, which will have cricket lovers of all age groups hooked on for the next two months.

Reliance-backed streaming platform JioCinema, which is the official streaming partner of the tournament, is banking on advertisers’ interest to match that of viewers of this year’s IPL. Following a year in which digital AdEx surpassed that of TV for the first time ever, the industry’s attention is narrowed on Connected TV, with industry insiders betting that IPL will prove to be just the push CTV needs to get that inside edge.

Saurabh Shrivastava, Senior Client Partner & National Business Growth, Dentsu X India, says that this year, more than 150 million people are estimated to view Tata IPL on a Connected TV device. “Apart from multiple geo filters available for advertising on CTV, there is another option available on a cost-per-spot basis which will definitely increase the adoption by the advertisers. Also, with a separate 4K feed, CTV becomes a great choice for the advertisers to target HNI consumers.”

Anup Govindan, Head of Revenue, Viacom18 Sports, agrees that CTV is the fastest-growing screen in the country today and also the fastest-growing segment within the digital universe. Indeed, industry reports this year have been glowing about the rate of adoption of CTV and its future share of the digital advertising market.

“The platform helps brands create more immersive ad experiences which drive meaningful engagement. Moreover, CTV stands out for providing certain exclusive experiences such as 4K picture quality and multi-cam modes with numerous feeds, none of which are possible on linear TV. This opens up more targeting and customisation possibilities and that is one of the main reasons why CTV stands out head and shoulders above the rest in a crowded media landscape,” says Govindan.

Nikhil Kumar, Chief Growth Officer at mediasmart, says, “While television advertising during IPL caught the advertiser's attention early on, it offers limited ways to target and measure. CTV changed that by offering a dynamic canvas for immersive storytelling, allowing brands to engage viewers in a captivating narrative that transcends traditional advertising formats.”

Using programmatic technology, brands can optimize campaigns in real-time, customize ads with dynamic creatives, and achieve significant scale. This approach ensures tailored messaging for better engagement and ad recall, maximizing impact.

“Interactive CTV ads add more attraction for brands looking to generate a higher level of brand engagement and recognition. This can be either through creating an animated background where products and the main messages of the ad gain a dedicated spot, or through the progress bar sync format, where the product or service becomes a part of the video. Brands can also leverage Smart QR codes to create powerful redirections and boost action,” says Kumar.

As per a dentsu consumer study, CTV viewers have close to 2X engagement level with media as compared to only TV viewers. CTV viewers have close to a 2.2X engagement level with CTV compared to offline media and a 1.4X engagement level with CTV compared to other digital media/platforms. This provides a unique opportunity for the brand to build engaged reach amongst HNI with less spill and better brand action.

Speaking of Data

After clocking in an audience of 450 million during IPL 2023, JioCinema is targeting over 650 million throughout the 2024 season, thus making the launch of JioCinema’s ad innovations a high-stake game for advertisers.

“As advertisers increase spending on CTV, there will be a growing influx of viewers across the country. Today, a CTV viewer in India is not just limited to big metros, but also is spread across Tier-2 & 3 cities. They consume OTT content in their preferred language and are able to choose the kind of content they want on the platform they want,” says Kumar.

Marketers and industry stakeholders will be looking for insights into viewer demographics, viewing habits, engagement metrics, and ad performance. Additionally, other metrics to track would be viewer behaviour, such as time spent watching content, preferred genres, and interaction with ads, to optimize campaigns for maximum effectiveness.

“CTV provides advertisers an opportunity for precise targeting amongst affluent consumers with fewer spillovers. The data from the increasing adoption of CTV gives a wealth of opportunities for marketers to gain insights into consumer behaviour, their demographic trends, and ad performance including the CTA,” says Shrivastava, adding that by leveraging these insights, marketers can optimize the campaign performance to drive better brand and business outcomes.

“Since large screen viewing can only be used by advertisers for storytelling, it is essential to make CTV advertising more measurable and outcome-focused through a thoughtful real-time targeting on the screen of the viewer’s engagement, such as mobiles, which can give brands a real sense of measurement of their ad impact,” says Kumar.