MEC predicts 2.6% higher TV ratings of IPL 2013

MEC predicts 2.6% higher TV ratings of IPL 2013

Mumbai: Average television rating for the Indian Premier League is expected to go up from 3.8 last year to 3.9, an increase of 2.6 per cent (15+ years, Male/Female, SEC ABC), as per the IPL TV Rating Estimation Study of MEC, a GroupM media buying and planning agency.

In the sixth season of the event, Mumbai Indians (4.5 TVR), Kolkata Knight Riders (4.2 TVR) and Chennai Super Kings (4.1 TVR) games will have the highest ratings, the study said.

Meanwhile, home team (84 per cent), favourite team (79 per cent) and Indian stars (64 per cent) will continue to be deciding factors to watch a match. And time of the match (49 per cent) is also gaining importance, the report said.

According to the study, MI (23 per cent), Chennai (19 per cent) and KKR (14 per cent) are the most popular teams. Support for Hyderabad has gone up by 200 per cent (2 per cent to 6 per cent), Bangalore has dropped by 50 per cent (12 per cent to 8 per cent)

Also, Sachin Tendulkar (80), MS Dhoni (79), Yuvraj Singh (76), Virat Kohli (74) and Virender Sehwag (73) are the most popular Indian players in the League; Chris Gayle (60), Ricky Ponting (55), Brett Lee (51) and Kevin Pietersen (50) are most popular foreign players.

MEC India MD T Gangadhar said, "Our study suggests that IPL seems to have matured as a property. The study clearly establishes that ratings in the first phase (first 18 games) impact the fate of the entire league. With Pepsi activating their title sponsorship in a big way, the BCCI launching the IPL Fantasy League and India‘s strong performance against Australia, the first stage of the league could get further momentum."

"We expect the IPL Fantasy League to become a key part of the live broadcast experience and as a result, social chatter around IPL could grow significantly", Gangadhar added.

Meritus Analytics Managing Partner Sunder Muthuraman also believes that the IPL brand is reflecting the behaviour of a typical mature consumer product. "Our proprietary survey, that is integral to the forecast, shows that there is a segment of audience who will watch more than last year (say, the loyalists) and another segment who will watch lesser (say, the rejecters). Given that the former segment is larger than the latter, the ratings are likely to be marginally higher than in 2012. Given our past successes, we hope our pioneering rating forecast methodology will be adopted by all broadcasters and advertisers."

The research was conducted in Mumbai, New Delhi, Kolkata, Chennai, Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Jaipur, Pune, Chandigarh and Ahmedabad. As in previous years, the study has been carried out in association with Meritus, WPP‘s analytics company.