IPL 2023: Disney Star sees 47% growth on opening day

Intensifying the war between TATA IPL’s official television broadcaster Disney Star and its exclusive digital broadcaster Jio Cinema (Viacom), the former has announced that it has clocked a total of 8.7 billion minutes of consumption on TV for the opening match, a jump of 47 per cent in comparison to last year.

Disney Star said that 140 million viewers tuned in for the live broadcast on opening day, which included the Opening Ceremony with 130 million watching the first match between Gujarat Titans and Chennai Super Kings. “We are humbled by the overwhelming response that #IPLonStar has received from fans across the country. The massive growth in viewing time is a testament to the success of our campaign, focus on building virtues of Star Sports’ broadcast, continuing dominance of linear Television as the preferred platform for uninterrupted viewing of live Cricket and most of all, the deep relationship we share with Cricket fans,” Sanjog Gupta, Head – Sports, Disney Star said.

Gupta added that this reiterates the popularity of TATA IPL as the premier Cricket tournament in the world. “We will continue to stay committed in our endeavour of serving fans through the power of storytelling, the best-in-class coverage and customization at scale,” he said.

Experts point out that the penetration of Star Sports has grown by around 10 per cent in comparison to the last IPL and that’s the reason behind Disney’s growth in IPL consumption.

Earlier this month, Anil Jayaraj, CEO of Viacom18 Sports, had told Business Today that the company expects IPL advertising revenues on digital this year to become bigger than TV. The viewership war between the two giants is for everyone to see. Star Sports, in response to Jio’s 4K has launched India’s first-ever 4K (UHD) TV channel and added nine languages for the live stream of the event which is also a first.

Star Sports India had bagged IPL’s TV rights for Rs 23,575 crore from 2023-27 while Viacom18 won the IPL digital rights for the same period at Rs 23,758 crore. The IPL media rights which included four packages cost a total of Rs 48,390 crore.

According to a report by the Media Partners Asia (MPA), JioCinema is set to generate Rs 24,000 – Rs 25,000 crore in ad sales revenue, surpassing the current IPL rights holder, Star India. “Star India’s estimated ad sales revenue is projected to be between Rs 14,800 – Rs 16,160 crore. This indicates that JioCinema is expected to earn around Rs 8,000 crore more than Star India during the upcoming IPL season,” it said. BusinessToday