Indian T20 League 2022 Registers A Record-Breaking Decline In The Viewership
Virat Kohli, Sourav Ganguly, and MS Dhoni (Image Source: Twitter)
Since the introduction of the Indian T20 League in 2008, this tournament has become a celebration all around the globe, especially for Indian fans. Fans get to enjoy watching top players, from all parts of the world, rubbing their shoulders for that trophy every year.
But, in the recently concluded edition of this tournament, the viewership percentage had a record-breaking fall. It made all the associates and the Indian Cricket Board’s officials worried watching that fall. According to a survey by Axis My India, only 25% of Indians watched this year’s edition despite having so much action off-late. Even, more matches were there as two new franchises were added this year.
Indian T20 League needs some updates for future
Speaking about this tournament’s digital rights, it was seen that Viacom18 paid a record ₹23,750 crores last month to bag two and a half bundles of it. However, it was observed that among those Indians who watched the tournament, 65% watched it on TV while 29% watched it on digital platforms.
As per the survey, season 15’s television viewership fell by 30-35% in the first four weeks compared to last year’s figures. Pradeep Gupta, chairman, and MD of Axis My India said that respondents are suffering from consumption fatigue and that had been affecting the viewership percentage. He said: “One can witness respondents suffering from consumption fatigue which could be related to the innumerable choice of content, ease in mobility and the availability of experiencing ‘cinema’ etc. The craze around the Indian T20 League persists across platforms but whether this excitement justifies its high media rights, time will tell,”
On the other hand, the CMO of Axis My India, Girish Upadhyay said that he is hopeful that Viacom18 will play a bigger role in the near future. “There is a bigger play that Reliance’s Viacom is looking at. These new viewers can help build the subscription revenue for the GEC, movies, and original content library they have, hence the Indian T20 League can’t just be looked at in isolation. IPL has never been just about numbers in terms of ratings, the kind of impact, engagement it gives brands is unprecedented,” he concluded.
