Mumbai 8 February 2018: The VIVO IPL 2018 auction event received an overwhelming response on television and digital medium in India, and globally on social media platforms.
A massive 46.5 million fans, approximately 6x more than last year, tuned in to watch the two-day auction event on the Star Sports Network as per Broadcast Audience Research Council (BARC) data (Source: BARC 2+ U+R).
Digital viewership too surged by 5x on Hotstar as compared to 2017.
The auction was telecast on a bouquet of six channels including Star Sports 1 (SD+HD), Star Sports1 Hindi (SD+HD), Star Sports First & Star Sports 1 Tamil.
“The huge surge in viewership numbers for the 2018 auction underlines the importance IPL holds for audiences,” Sanjay Gupta, MD – Star India said in a statement.
On social media, as per a report by ‘The Distillery’, Star India’s social intelligence cell, the auction event was a global phenomenon with 843K mentions worldwide – a five-fold increase over the numbers in 2017.
“here’s tremendous enthusiasm and anticipation about the tournament and we are committed to making VIVO IPL 2018 an exciting experience for the fans, who will experience the combined power of Star Sports and Hotstar,” Gupta mainatined.
Hashtags #IPLAuction, #IPL2018 trended on Twitter, recording a 91% positive sentiment score amongst the audiences.
“Over the years the Indian Premier League has captured the hearts of viewers not just in India but across the world. Going by the viewership so far, both, the anticipation and the quality of delivery have risen,” CEO for BCCI Rahul Johri maintained in a release.
The Vivo IPL 2018 auction received maximum chatter from Tamil Nadu and Maharashtra.
“With Star India at the forefront, we hope and our confident the VIVO IPL 2018 will serve the interests of cricket in India and the expectations of cricket lovers like never before. The 6-month IPL extravaganza this year will surely set new benchmarks and change the face of sports broadcasting in India,” Johri asserted.
Follow Vivo IPL 2018 action here: Indian Premier League