First 51 matches of IPL 2024 brought in 510 million TV viewers, says Disney Star
Also read: IPL 2024: How many ads is too many ads? Digital broadcast partner JioCinema has not released any fresh viewership figures. In mid-April, 29 matches into the tournament, it said it had clocked more than 38.3 crore viewers on the platform, up 42% from the same period last season. It also said viewers on connected TVs spent an average of more than 80 minutes watching each match.
According to a recent report by GroupM ESP, the sports division of GroupM India, sports sponsorships in India crossed ₹15,766 crore in 2023, an increase of 10.95% from ₹14,209 crore in the previous year.This expenditure included ground fees, team and franchise fees, athlete endorsements, and media spending. Predictably, cricket came out on top, accounting for 87% of the total spending at ₹13,701 crore, a 13% increase from 2022. Also read: Cricket spirits soar, but IPL's ad rates are flat The report, titled ‘Sporting Nation: Building a Legacy’, highlighted the remarkable surge in digital advertising revenues, which accounted for 40% of the overall ad spending.
This growth was attributed to the fact that IPL matches and ICC Men's Cricket World Cup matches on OTT platforms are free of charge. While ad spends are growing steadily in favour of cricket, many viewers said they couldn’t recall more than two or three brands. Mint recently reported that this resulted in sluggish ad rates and cautious spending on television ads by companies.
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