The 14th edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL) saw advertising volumes on TV drop from levels in the previous season of the cricket tournament, according to data from TAM Sports, a division of TAM Media Research.
Ad volumes, or the duration of advertising on television in seconds, across 27 Star network channels, the official broadcaster of IPL, dropped 0.8 percent from IPL 13, the television audience measurement analysis firm said. The decrease took place during the second phase of IPL 14.
The 2021 edition of the league started in India on April 9 and was suspended on May 4 following the second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic. The second phase resumed in the United Arab Emirates on September 19 and concluded on October 15.
The number of brands that advertised during the league also dropped to about 230 this year from over 245 last year. The number of categories of advertisers declined to about 85 compared with more than 90 last year.
While ad volumes, number of brands and categories saw a slight drop, ad rates increased 25-30 percent to Rs 18 lakh per 10 second slot on TV from Rs 14 lakh charged during the first phase due to high demand.
Advertiser interest
Over 30 new categories of companies advertised during IPL 14 – securities and share broking companies topped the list, followed by hair dyes. This year, edtech, online gaming and pan masala were among the top five categories.
The top five advertisers in terms of air time were Dream 11, Think & Learn, Phonepe, KP Pan Foods and Upstox.
Categories such as two-wheelers, banking-services and products that advertised during IPL 13 shied away this time.
Viewership drop
Along with ad volumes, IPL 14 saw a dip in viewership as well.
In the first half, which opened with the Mumbai Indians taking on Royal Challengers Bangalore, broadcaster Star India clocked 323 million total impressions.
In comparison, the opening match between MI and Chennai Super Kings last year recorded 11.2 billion viewing minutes. In 2019, the opening match between CSK and RCB recorded 6.8 billion viewing minutes.
The average reach – the number of individuals who viewed the event for at least one minute – for matches 36-45 during the second phase was reportedly down to 72.4 million, against 82.4 million in the previous week and lower than 104.8 million in the first phase.
Analysts said viewership fell because the league was split into two phases.
