Addition of two new teams – Gujarat Titans and Lucknow Super Giants – and a new format have already created a buzz and curiosity around the new season, even though all the matches will be played in four stadiums in Mumbai and Pune, they said.
Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) on Friday announced the dates of the 15th season of IPL that will get underway on March 26 and the final will be played on May 29.
A sports marketing executive, whose client is currently in talks with the broadcaster for a sponsorship deal, said Star is looking at around 20% increase in advertising rates over last year.
“IPL is the only property of its kind with such a massive reach and engagement,” he said. “Last year, they signed some advertisers for as high as ₹12.5 lakh for 10 seconds, and this time, they are already looking at a 20% increase.”
And they may find many takers. “Considering the return on the investment and the impact, many advertisers are looking to join the bandwagon,” the person said.
The interest in the league can be gauged by the fact that more than 50 million viewers tuned in for the player auctions for the first time in the history of the league, as per BARC viewership data sourced from subscribers.
The mega player auctions saw over 40% jump in overall consumption on TV – 3.6 billion minutes – compared to 2.5 billion minutes in 2018, when the last mega player auction was held.
Even on Disney+Hotstar, the video streaming service, the peak concurrency for the auction was at 2.18 million.
“This year turned out to be the biggest auction event and justified our belief that the runway offers the opportunity to engage with millions of cricket fans and generate immense anticipation for the tournament,” Sanjog Gupta, head, sports at Disney Star, told ET.
