MUMBAI: Riding on the back of several close encounters and an engaging month long marketing campaign, the ratings for the sixth edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL) on Max and Six have held steady.

According to Tam data provided by the broadcaster, the first five matches and the Opening Ceremony got an average TVR of 3.8 for CS 4+ TG All India market. It has managed a reach of 100 million.

Last time the first six matches and the Opening Ceremony got an average TVR of 3.9 but the reach was 78 million. The story is similar in the Hindi Speaking Markets (HSM) where the average rating this time is 4 compared to 4.1 last year.

Data provided by the broadcaster also shows that the Mumbai Indians matches are followed the most. The closely fought match between Royal Challengers Bangalore and Mumbai Indians got a TVR of 4.9, the highest so far for any match.

The Mumbai Indians versus Chennai Super Kings match got a TVR of 4.5. The first match last year which featured these two teams had crossed a TVR of 5 with a 5.5 TVR. Following the trend seen in previous years the early evening match had a lower rating.

The match between the Rajasthan Royals and Delhi Daredevils at 4 pm this time had a rating of 2.1. The Opening Ceremony?s viewership which featured the likes of Pitbull improved with a rating of 1.8 compared to 1.2 last year.

Multi Screen Media (MSM) president network sales, licensing and telephony Rohit Gupta said that the ratings were a combination of different factors. "Despite Tam?s panel expansion the event has done well. There is more buzz this time. The matches are closely fought. The stadiums are packed. On the ad inventory front we are more or less sold out. We have got 11 sponsors."

He adds that the IPL has hit Hindi GECs. "If you see the ratings of other channels like Zee, Colors, and Star have been hit. ?Dabangg? would have contributed 28-30 GRPs for Star. If you take that away then Star has taken a big hit."

Vivaki Exchange CEO Mona Jain said that the event has stabilised. "There is a lot of paraphernalia happening around it. It is getting into the primetime viewing of homes. People want to be clued into the hot topic of the day which is the IPL. Also cricket has gotten a fresh lease of life after India beat Australia."

Max EVP and Business Head Neeraj Vyas reveals that not only has the reach of the property gone up, the time spent has also remained steady at 24-25 minutes. The reach, particularly, has been encouraging as the tournament happened in the backdrop of 38 cities going digital in Phase II, adds Vyas.

MSM has already sold 90 per cent of its inventory for tournament with 11 sponsors on-board which include Pepsi and Vodafone as co-presenting sponsors with Tata Photon, Samsung Mobile, Panasonic, Havells, Usha Appliances, Karbonn Tablets, Godrej, and Parle as associate sponsors.