All roads leading to Disney Star making TATA IPL 2023 the biggest ever on TV

Marketing Initiative: With the unlocking of 200 million potential viewers with FTA channel Star Utsav Movies broadcasting 12 select matches likely to take Disney Star’s reach 500 million this season

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Published: Mar 7, 2023 2:45 PM | 6 min read | Advertorial

IPL on television is the Super Bowl of India, with the medium dominating viewership by a huge margin compared to its counterpart while delivering long-lasting brand impact for advertisers. Lag-free viewing experience, collective viewing and the lean-back nature of TV viewing makes IPL a TV phenomenon.

So, what is it that makes IPL on TV the biggest platform for advertisers come summer?

Pay TV and HD Homes Grow to make TV bigger than it’s ever been:

According to multiple credible sources like BARC and CII-KPMG, Pay TV homes have grown from 163 million in 2020 to 168 million in 2023, and will continue to grow in the next 5 years. Cord cutting on the other hand, is merely 0.2% of the overall TV universe. Additionally, 400+ million TV viewers in India cannot be accessed by digital platforms, showcasing the gulf of TV scale in comparison to digital.

HD homes in India have grown to a scale 7X of connected TV. For CTV to scale in India, high speed internet connectivity is a massive challenge in addition to low CTV penetration. HD TV continues to remain by far the ideal platform for brands targeting premium audiences. Disney Star targets a reach of 90 Mn HD homes for IPL 2023.

Low cost of access to IPL on TV will drive mass viewership compared to digital: The cost of viewing the entire IPL on Star Sports in HD is just Rs.38/- for Indian households. Another advantage for Star Sports is that majority of cricket viewers in India are already subscribed to the channel. Digital on the other hand will need smartphone users to shell Rs.36 for streaming just one match in standard definition feed, with costs for streaming IPL ranging from 70x-500x of TV over the course of the tournament. The low cost of access will be another reason why TV will be where IPL is watched.

IPL Free-To-Air for the first time ever on TV

In a massive breakthrough for brands and advertisers select 12 games of IPL 2023 will be broadcasted on FTA channel Star Utsav Movies, the first time ever on TV. Star Utsav Movies is India’s third biggest channel in terms of reach with a potential of 200+ million additional audiences for brands to reach out to this IPL. The channel will boost IPL viewership on TV in the HSM region and can be a gamechanger for TV advertisers this summer.

Sports viewership on TV lead by cricket on a stellar rise: In 2022, 750+ million viewers watched live sports on television, with cricket on TV contributing to 650 million of it as per BARC. Star Sports, the official broadcaster of IPL has been flagbearer of the rising cricket viewership on TV, delivering a ratings growth of 36%-50% across live cricket events in the last 6-8 months. The broadcaster has even broken all-time viewership records across events like key events in the time span, showcasing that cricket on TV is not just garnering eyeballs but also growing at a fast pace.

The Unmatched Power of the Disney Star Network for IPL 2023: The league will be broadcasted LIVE on TV across the widest-ever bouquet of 22+ channels within the Disney Network which commands a market share of 30% on television. Continuing its legacy of driving regional viewership, the broadcast will feature more than ten language feeds. The network has also roped in over 100 cricket experts to create a series of customized regional content that will bring the whole country together as they bond over the love for cricket.

Scale with efficiency like none other for advertisers: The business impact of IPL on TV has been phenomenal for advertisers across categories and life-stages. In recent years, IPL coverage on Star Sports has been the biggest launchpad for numerous brands in industries such as automobiles, mobile devices, e-commerce, consumer durables and digital payments. Over the past five years, a significant 75% of B2C unicorns in India and a range of brands across various categories and stages of development have effectively utilized Star Sports' IPL coverage to achieve remarkable growth.

Samir Sethi, VP and Head of Brand Marketing at Policy Bazaar and Kaushik Thacker, Strategy and Growth at Winzo spoke to us about what IPL on Star Sports brings to the table for brands.

“Apart from helping brands build a massive reach in a short span of time, IPL on TV also helps drive immediate impact, especially for digital brands, since the mobile device is unengaged, and if a viewer likes the proposition of a brand, they can immediately check it out online, which is what we've also seen. IPL on TV can also be used to target certain segments of consumers based on affluence, by advertising either on Standard Definition or High-Definition feed. Additionally, it can be used to do a focused campaign in a key regional market, by advertising only on a particular regional language feed.” Samir Sethi, VP and Head of Brand Marketing at Policy Bazaar.

Kaushik spoke about how emerging brands and categories benefit from IPL on TV.

“IPL provides opportunity to get unparalleled instant reach that helps not just in driving the awareness, but category creation as well. Additionally, IPL also helps brands drive consideration for their products as being present on IPL on TV helps build the trust with the end consumer. For brands that are looking to drive conversions/actions out of media buy on IPL - TV makes more sense because of the 2nd screen phenomena. IPL is a mix of active and passive viewing experience. Most people consume IPL on the TV with their phones/laptops on. This helps them in quick trials of the advertisers without going out of IPL ecosystem.” Kaushik Thacker, Strategy and Growth at Winzo

IPL on TV - The Choice of Viewers: A YouGov research last year showed that 83% of viewers preferred watching sports on television due to a seamless, more immersive, and lag-free viewing experience. Add to this better audio-visual quality, no distractions from mobile notifications and the collective viewing experience with friends, colleagues, and family members that makes watching live sports on TV a clear winner.