The 2023 edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL) will see two networks – Disney-Star and Viacom18 – compete fiercely on television and digital platforms for viewership and advertising for the T20 tournament.
Reliance-backed Viacom18 holds the digital rights of IPL for five years from the start of this season.
Viacom18 has announced that the company will be broadcasting IPL for free this year on its over-the-top platform, Jio Cinema, and the move is likely to impact the domestic broadcasting market in a big way.
Viacom18 Sports CEO Anil Jayaraj told BLiTZ that Viacom18 proposes to scale up programming, technical synergies and advertising as it makes the IPL accessible to consumers in multiple languages across the country.
In a conversation with BLiTZ, Ajit Varghese, Head of Network Advertising Sales, Disney-Star, said, “Disney-Star has the TV rights of IPL for the period 2023-2027 and has decided to expand its advertising network for the T20 league this year. mentioned the policy under which 550-700 advertisers will be targeted and this number is more than double the target number of previous T20 editions of the broadcaster.
Varghese said, “Usually there are around 200-250 advertisers in the IPL every year. However, this year we are trying to reach the number of 550-700 advertisers.
The advertising strategy will include targeting not only large and medium advertisers across sectors ranging from FMCG to consumer durables, electronics, telecom, retail and hotels who are loyal to cricket but also internet-based businesses and small enterprises. Will also target those who did not invest on cricket before.
Varghese says the effort is to provide a ‘turnkey solution’ for advertisers to ensure that they get a meaningful return on their investment from the T20 tournament as the summer and holiday periods are also favorable for many companies across categories. Will prove
Disney-Star is trying to present the IPL as a ‘big screen experience’ where families and friends can get together to experience the game of cricket the way football is seen in Europe and other parts of the world. goes.
According to industry executives, Disney-Star is aiming to reach 500 million viewers this year through IPL, up from around 400 million viewers of previous editions of IPL.
Disney-Star will also telecast the tournament in more than 10 languages on 22 channels of the network, including 17 channels of Star Sports. Varghese says that this year the broadcasting company is trying to improve the experience of the fans inside the studio by aligning the IPL programming with the brand and content.
Apart from this, emphasis is being laid on Star Sports Metaverse, a virtual environment to engage the fans, under which teleportation technology and magic windows will be used to enhance the visual experience on the screen. There will also be a host of commentators and apart from the High Definition (HD) feed in Hindi and English, services will also be provided in Tamil and Telugu to appeal to different segments of the audience.
Varghese said, ‘Cricket is a strategy that has stood the test of time. It is one of the most efficient ecosystems. We are also seeing that Indian cricket is doing well on television. According to BARC data, the viewership ratings of Indian cricket have increased by about 35 to 45 percent this year as compared to last year. This also gives us an idea that Indian cricket is growing in terms of viewership and this is a good sign as we start the IPL season a month from now.
advertiser
Disney-Star is targeting 550-700 advertisers and Viacom18 will target around 550 advertisers
broadcast plan
Viacom18 will broadcast IPL this year for free on digital and it will be telecast in 12 languages. While Disney-Star will telecast IPL on 22 channels including sports and general entertainment and it will be telecast in more than 10 languages. Will also increase the number of HD channels
programming
The technology will be used extensively on both Disney-Star and Viacom18. Programming on Disney-Star will use teleportation technology and magic windows to enhance the visual experience on-screen, in addition to enhancing the fan experience within the studio while programming on Disney-Star. Viacom 18 will emphasize multiple camera angles, detailed analysis, play along and a special 4K broadcast
Marketing
Both the networks will be all set to market their IPL initiatives across the media
