MUMBAI: The opening weekend of the 12th season of VIVO IPL, broke all existing viewership records. 219* mn viewers (All India 2+ U+ R) tuned in on the opening weekend, which was 31per cent* higher than last year. Specifically, on the opening day, reach in HSM grew by 30 per cent* while in South reach grew by 20 per cent*, driven by a strong regionalisation strategy. Apart from the robust growth in reach, viewership (as measured by Impressions) also grew by a solid 29 per cent (Source: BARC Preview Report).
On the back of a successful marketing campaign, ‘Game Banayega Name’, India tuned in to make the opening weekend the highest ever watched in the history of the tournament. A great leveler and reflective of young and fearless India in every sphere, the campaign culminated in a Dhoni vs Kohli fan face-off featuring the two legends themselves inviting viewers to tune in for the opening encounter on March 23rd.
In 2019, the regionalisation story was strengthened with the introduction of Marathi & Malayalam taking the total number of languages to 8 (English, Hindi, Tamil, Telugu, Kannada, Bengali being the other languages) which is the maximum for any sport tournament till date.
Additionally, Star curated a special feed targeting families & kids on Star Gold to invite a wider section of audiences. The first episode of ‘Sunday Funday’ was broadcast on the opening weekend to give viewers a fresh and relatable experience to VIVO IPL 2019. As part of the feed, an exclusive show – ‘Meet the Khelkars’ had cricketing legends Irfan Pathan, Virender Sehwag and Krishnamachari Srikkanth talking about their cricketing journey in a fun and light-hearted manner.
Making it a truly global extravaganza the commentary roster for VIVO IPL 2019 features over 100 experts from India and across the globe. The #SelectDugout meant for the ardent cricket fan who is always looking for more, also received an overwhelming response from the fans with the introduction of Brendon McCullum to the likes of Gautam Gambhir, Dean Jones, Kumar Sangakkara, Scott Styris, Anil Kumble, etc.
