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Despite fears that cricket viewership would be eroded due to the Indian Premier League (IPL) match fixing controversy, India's thrilling win over England in the Champions' Trophy has proved sceptics wrong.
Two STAR group channels - STAR Sports 2 and STAR Cricket - together hit a television viewership rating (TVR) of 4.9 for the final match, according to the measurement agency Television Audience Measurement (TAM). The final match was reduced to a 20-over game due to heavy rains. The rating for the 2009 final was 1.4 TVR.
While the TVR of the final IPL match, which was broadcast on SET Max and Sony Pix, was higher at 6.9, the Champions Trophy figures of STAR do not include millions of others who might have seen it on Doordarshan.
Better than previous edition
The Champions Trophy tournament averaged a TVR of two for STAR, which is 13 per cent higher than the average rating clocked by the previous installment of the tournament. For IPL-6, however, the average TVR was three.
The Champions Trophy was seen by 109.8 million, compared with 78.5 million in its last edition. The India matches of the Champions' Trophy averaged at 3.5 TVR, while the non-India matches registered a TVR of 1.3. The message was clear: this year, Champions Trophy viewership has seen a major increase despite the fact that there are many matches, where India was not playing.
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Speaking on the ICC Champions Trophy, Vijay Rajput, chief operating officer, ESPN Software India, said: "The ICC Champions Trophy has proved to be a stupendous success for us with Team India displaying a power-packed performance right through this marquee tournament. As the new Team India turned on the heat, cricket fans were glued to the TV broadcast with the final delivering the highest rating for any ODI this year - despite a rain delay and a late start which had the match ending well past midnight in India."
According to industry sources, the final match ad spots were sold at a premium of 40-50 per cent over the other matches. This amounts to nearly Rs 6.5-7 lakh for a 10 second spot for the finals and other matches at Rs 4-5 lakh.
Both the tournaments had undertaken extensive marketing campaigns with STAR having the Zor Lagao, Champions Banao tagline and Max splurging on the Sirf Dekhne ka Nahi…Jumping Jhapak chorus. Star also had special programs in the lead-up like Champions Ka Champion and Jai Ho highlighting India's CT exploits in the past helped in getting audience traction in time for the main event.
