Analysis Of Growth in IPL viewership in 2022

Regarded as the best T20 cricket league, IPL is also the cricket league that has the largest attendance in the entire world. The league has become very prominent to the point where it has become a brand of its own. This, in turn, has attracted viewers, brands, and sponsors to pull into the event. More than that, it has also become a popular object of sports betting.

That being said, it is no doubt that IPL has raked in remarkable viewership over the years. However, beyond that, it has also become an avenue where fans and other individuals can participate through betting. While some prefer to sit and watch it over TV or OTT, others can also actively participate through an IPL betting app or site. Such options have led to impacts beyond viewership—since IPL betting itself has become an extremely popular feat across India.

While betting and viewership heights are indeed true to the IPL landscape, this 2022, a significant downtrend in TV viewership was observed. These declines are the first in years to hit the IPL landscape. However, though these downtrends could be quite alarming, they may not necessarily reflect a disregarded preference for IPL; they may simply show a shift in preferred viewing platforms.

Television Viewership

While the IPL still carries a strong place in India and on a global scale, a decline in TV viewership in 2022 has been seen. The Broadcast Audience Research Council India (BARC) was able to note this. During the first week of the IPL’s fifteenth year, around 229 million viewers tuned into the event. Though this seems to be a huge number, it is much smaller compared to 2021’s audience of around 267 million.

Aside from an observed decline on a general audience level, TV viewership for groups according to age has also drastically declined by around 30%. More specifically, according to a survey, it was found that compared to IPL 2021, viewership in IPL 2022 was around 40% less among those who are 15 years old to 21 years old.

As the weeks of the IPL passed, downtrends were still observed. In its fourth week, ratings went lower by around 35%. Ratings have never gone this low in IPL’s history. To add, even if there were continuous matches each evening of the week, Star Sports fell to No. 4 across top channels.

Advertisers and sponsors alike were alarmed and concerned by this decline. Because IPL has become a stable revenue-generating feat, several feared that these low ratings and viewership may negatively impact the profit turnouts.

However, towards the end of the season, increases in TV viewership numbers were indeed seen. This growth was especially evident in the last 4 competitions.

The rise of OTT options

Though significant TV viewership declines were indeed observed over the early weeks, data shows that there is a viewer platform shift taking place. While IPL 2022 TV viewership indeed went down at large rates, viewership through OTT platforms grew by over 305% YoY. This was not included in general TV viewership stats because the BARC does not monitor OTT options. These numbers may show that several IPL viewers did not stop watching IPL; they may have just shifted platforms.

Though TV viewership alone got lower, the added reach of both TV and OTT options reached around 426 million. This could still be the highest viewership ever achieved in IPL history.

A Shifting Viewership Landscape

The rising preference for OTT platforms may be fueled by the changes in India’s internet offerings. India’s virtual landscape is going through a revolution as 5G was just recently launched a few days ago. This network is expected to be 10x faster than the previous 4G network. Hence, the manners of consuming content over OTT platforms are bound to be changed forever.

Viewers of IPL and even other crafts are moving away from traditional TV networks and gearing towards content provided through OTT platforms. The latter content can be accessed through smart televisions, tablets, and smartphones. Such an alternative has become a more feasible option because internet and OTT subscriptions are significantly cheap.

Though this OTT viewership trend cannot be negated, it is still reported that around two-thirds of IPL superfans still tune into television networks. While a significant number of viewers are indeed shifting to OTT alternatives, such platforms have not replaced TV networks altogether.

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