India's win at T20 smashes TV rating records

Delivering an average television rating of 3.9 per cent on STAR Cricket, the highest so far in the ongoing ICC T20 World Cup being played in England, the tournament’s third match played between India (winners) and Bangladesh on June 6 also turned out to be the most watched one. Over 13 million viewers tuned in late at night. Also, the 3.9 rating stood out as the most-watched match among the first 24 played in the two ICC T20 World Cups so far—first played in South Africa in 2007 that India won and the second tournament underway — says the data released by the overnight television ratings agency Audience Measurement and Analytics Ltd (aMap). This is even higher than the average ratings of the top three matches in the recently concluded domestic India Premier League (IPL2) tournament, despite those being viewed in India during prime time (4pm-7:30 pm and 8 pm till midnight), shows the aMap data.

The India-Bangladesh T20 match has recorded the second-highest viewership among all 30 matches played so far in the two T20 World Cups, next only to the India-Pakistan final played in South Africa in 2007 during the inaugural, that India had won, says the aMap data. That final in 2007 had generated a viewership of over 14.4 million and record ratings of 6 per cent for cable viewers over 15 years of age, considered the key demographics for cricket by media planners. For this reason, media planners are encouraged by the high ratings of the India-Bangladesh match. “India matches are expected to give higher ratings. But the fact that viewers are watching it even past midnight is extremely encouraging for the advertisers,” says a senior media planner in a leading agency at Gurgaon. A total of 27 advertisers, the highest so far in the tournament, consumed over 2,000 seconds of on-air advertisment time during the India-Bangladesh match on June 6 on STAR Cricket, says aMap.

In the second T20 World Cup currently underway in England, the first two matches—Holland (winners) versus England on June 5 and West Indies (winners) versus Australia on June 6 generated ratings of only 1 per cent and 1.7 per cent, respectively, in the cable homes and among viewers over 15 years of age, says the aMap data. ESPN STAR Sports, host broadcaster for the ICC T20 World Cup, expects to raise around Rs 225 crore from advertising revenue during the 17-day tournament.

-Business Standard