IPL streaming goes mainstream; digital viewership set to overtake TV

The countdown for the first major cricket offering of 2023, the Indian Premier League (IPL) has begun. Cricket fans are beyond excited for the biggest festival of cricket in India and the news of IPL being available for free on digital has brought in a big cheer amongst them.

India, with its massive population of internet users and a deep-seated passion for cricket, has become increasingly digital-first in its consumption of sports, especially cricket. Riding on the digital wave, this year's IPL is slated to record its biggest-ever innings on a digital platform. In a bid to unlock the true potential of IPL, Jio Cinema is all set to offer free streaming to every IPL viewer in the country across every device – mobile phones, Connected TVs, laptops, tabs etc., which is expected to result in more than 500 million people streaming IPL on their devices. With some very interesting offerings & technology interventions, JioCinema intends to change the game of sports viewing on digital platforms in the country.

While the digital story looks promising, the outlook looks a bit grim for the traditional medium of TVs. The decline of sports viewing on television has been a trend that has been observed globally, as more and more people turn to digital platforms for their entertainment needs. Additionally, the availability of high-speed internet and affordable smartphones, Smart TVs has only added to the viewership base of digital sports viewers.

In India, the decline in the number of Pay TV households & the reach and TVR for IPL is reflective of this trend. As per the recent FICCI report, the number of households with Pay TV are on a steady decline over the last three years. In 2020 there were 129 million households with Pay TV, which dropped to 125 million and 108 million in 2021 and 2022, respectively.

IPL TVR and reach on TV have also reported a consistent decline in the last few years. According to BARC, TVR for IPL has dropped from 6.2 in 2020 to 5 and 3.7 over the next two years in the M15+ AB IND U TG. Similarly, the reach of the series has dropped from 405 million to 360 million from 2020 to 2022 in the MF 2+ TG. While the traditional medium is reporting a steady decline, JioCinema’s game-changing intervention on digital may supercharge digital adoption in the country.

The never-before-seen massive scale of viewership outlook for live sports on a digital platform is a testament to the power of digital platforms in bringing live sports to the masses in India and is indicative of the direction in which sports viewing is heading towards in the country. The upcoming season of IPL promises to be a watershed moment in the digital landscape of the country. The high-quality streaming will be available to viewers at their convenience, anytime and anywhere, and it will be a perfect blend of technology and sports that will cater to India's cricket-loving audience.

Industry heads, too, endorse that the disruptive strategy of free streaming the IPL on Jio Cinema will bring big gains in terms of viewership helping unlock the true potential of the game.

Nilesh Malani, Chief Marketing Officer, Polycab India Limited said that Jio Cinema offering free streaming service for IPL is a huge disruption. "Reliance and Jio  are known for disruption. It is great for the consumer as they will get free content and will be able to watch their favourite game on a digital screen. From the advertisers stand point for us it would be better as well as when acquisition of customers is at a faster scale we believe the overall cost per contact will also go down," said Malani.

Bhairav Shanth, Co-Founder, ITW Universe said that the digital revolution has played a big role in the growth of IPL and with free viewing it will accelerate the growth of the game further. "The IPL has been adding new viewers every season and at about half a billion plus in India, it’s tempting to think it has hit some kind of a ceiling. But with the digital revolution being a big driver of this growth, at this stage of the IPL journey, the chance to view for free could accelerate this growth. Digital definitely has the potential to take the existing base of around  500-600 million and add in the next 200 Million viewers,” said Shanth.

Girish Hingorani, Senior GM and Head- Marketing, Ecommerce and Modern Trade at Blue Star Limited said that offering free streaming for IPL is a smart move on behalf of Jio Cinema. "This will bring people watching TV and digital on par. It will prove to be very effective, just like it was during the recently concluded FIFA World Cup. This move will not only build a lot of traffic for digital viewing but could be a strong competitor for television," said Hingorani.

Sapna Sharma, Co-founder, and COO, Efficiacy Worldwide Pvt Ltd said, " IPL is one the most viewed event across the globe. Free streaming of IPL on Jio Cinema is a great strategy as it will bring an even bigger audience base to the app and will result in a very high viewership. This strategy will definitely disrupt digital viewership as it will enable the incremental base of customers to become the viewer of the event and will result in one of the highest reach any sports event has got on the digital landscape. In fact, the reach of connected TV with Jio Cinema is going to be higher than the HD TV reach for the sport."

Overall, the decline of sports viewing on television is a reflection of the changing media landscape, as digital platforms have become an increasingly important way for fans to consume sports content. IPL's free streaming on Jio Cinema is a move to reach every video viewer in the country and it looks to definitely take the ever-so-popular league to newer heights.

**Native content