9th Edition of the IPL reaches extra-ordinary viewership numbers
May 5, 2016 at 11:24 PM
At the start of the year, the cricketing calendar was full of interesting tournaments that were ready to entertain the fans all around the world.
But come May, the excitement and intensity of the Asia Cup and the World T20 took its toll on the viewers and the slam-bang Indian Premier League took a cruel hit.
The overdose of T20 cricket this year has seen the Indian Premier League lose viewership week by week but the value of entertainment provided by the competition has put the event at the top of the most-viewed list in India.
A recent report has suggested that the 9th edition of the tournament has reached record levels of viewership levels at 297 million cumulatively just into the third week of the competition.
The initial week of the competition exceeded the expectations of the broadcasters but the next week saw a dramatic fall in the numbers. However, after the end of the third week, the Indian Premier League now is drawing a large number of the audience up until the 25th game of the tournament.
And with the business end of the tournament coming up, the numbers will only be on the rise.
Sony Max, Sony Six, and Sony ESPN a part of the Sony Pictures Networks India, the official broadcasters of the event in India have been the most viewed channel in the prime-time section over the last three weeks in the country.
IPL with 927.4 GVM is 234 percent better than the second most viewed channel in prime time at an all-India level, and with 676.2 GVM is 203 percent better than the second most viewed channel in HSM.
Further study shows that the general states that host the IPL are not the only states that have seen an increase in viewership.
The Fan-Park initiative taken up by the IPL have also been a huge success this season and with the quality of cricket on offer, it is not a surprise to see these numbers.
Mumbai, Rajasthan, Jharkhand, West Bengal, Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat, and Maharashtra have all shown significant improvement in viewership and have made the 9th edition of the IPL a success already.
These numbers will only increase as the points table gets tighter so let’s hope that the quality of the sport on the field lives up to the expectations.