No drop in viewership, ad interest post-IPL row: Sony

Despite controversies surrounding the cash-rich Indian Premier League, broadcaster Sony Pictures today said it hasn't seen the viewership or the advertiser interest diminish in the T20 League so far.
"As far as brand value from a broadcast perspective is concerned, IPL viewership has continued to grow in the last three years. Even from season 7 to season 8, (the first season after the crisis forcing title sponsor Pepsi to pull out) we have seen a growth in absolute viewership and also in terms of TV viewer ratings.
"Also on the advertiser interest, let me tell you we do not see that abate," Sony Pictures Networks India chief executive NP Singh told reporters here.

"We are seeing a lot of demand for IPL from advertisers. A lot of new categories came in last year which continue to exist and fire the demand further this year too. IPL is continuing to be strong from the advertiser's perspective," he claimed.
Beverages giant PepsiCo, which was the title sponsor of the cash-rich league for the three seasons (2013-15) pulled out before the contract expired in 2017, citing the tarnished IPL image due to the spot-fixing controversy.
Asked if Sony has any problem with the way IPL has landed in trouble, Singh said as far as IPL issues are concerned, a lot of action has been taken by BCCI, which has given a lot of comfort to all stakeholders including us.

Sony had bagged the IPL rights in a nine-year deal running through to 2017 for a whopping Rs 8,200 crore.

Singh said they will also look at acquiring the digital rights for the league when it comes up for renewal.
"Our attempt is to acquire digital rights for all the sports properties that we have for television, so that the viewers have the flexibility to view their favourite sport not just on television but on digital platforms as well," he said.
"The IPL digital rights are with our competitor (Star India) for the next two seasons as well. So when it comes for renewal we will be in the market for that," he added.