MUMBAI: The presence of Shah Rukh Khan as the brand ambassador and the addition of a fourth Indian Premier League (IPL) team have not done much to boost the fortunes of ESPN Star Sports (ESS) when it comes to the Nokia Champions Twenty20 League.

The third edition of the cricket event being aired on ESPN and Star Cricket has delivered a TVR of 1.44 for the first three matches, according to TAM data (C&S 4+ All India). Earlier the six matches held in a qualifier event managed a TVR of 0.74.

The opening ceremony where international acts like Ludacris performed also failed to enthuse cricket fans as it got a TVR of 0.3.

Last year the entire event had delivered a TVR of 1.44, an improvement over the 1.06 that the first edition had delivered. This year‘s event could fare better overall if an IPL franchise makes it to the final.

The highest rating was for a match between the defending champions Chennai Super Kings and Mumbai Indians, which got a rating of 2.24. A match not featuring an IPL team (between the Cape Cobras and New South Wales Blues) did not reach a TVR of 1.