Cricket World Cup boosts TV ratings, but Indian team’s performance may still cloud the picture. Midway through the cup frenzy, sports channels look satisfied with the kind of ratings that are pouring in. Although, the indications are that it could have been much better. Now, after the defeat of the Indian team by South Africa on Saturday, much depends on India's encounter against the West Indies on Sunday.
NP Sathyamurthy, CEO, Karishma Initiative, said, "India matches have given an average TVR of 10-plus. It is evident that this year's World Cup has been viewed with much higher interest than in 2007." TVR stands for television viewer ratings which is a measurement of the popularity of a programme or advertisement in a target audience.
After India's disastrous performance in 2007 World Cup, which was cut short by the humiliating defeat at the hands of Bangladesh, fans and broadcasters were looking forward to better show this time round. But while India's performance cannot be described as stellar by any account, it has ensured enough ratings and advertising revenues to keep most people happy.
In 2007, the total 51 matches pulled an average of 2.06 TVR. This time, with a total 49 matches, the tournament has seen a top rating of 12.63 TVR, which is a huge improvement. Pratap Bose, CEO, Mudra Max, asserts that the ratings have been "higher than expected", with the India-Bangladesh and India-England matches garnering an average TVR of 9 and 12 respectively.
Overall, advertising revenues have been reasonably good. The broadcasters' strategy to give access to advertisers to most Indian matches has worked well and has generated good revenues. However, advertisers are worried that post India's loss to South Africa, the ratings may drop. As it is, the kind of euphoria that erupted when India reached the finals in 2003 is missing. An analyst from Edelweiss said, "With India being the host, some more enthusiasm was expected. Cricket continues to be the most popular game in India, but the cup mania could have been more."
Where did cricket, 'India's secular religion', falter? The answer may lie in the Indian Premier League (IPL). It has been reported that advertisers have reserved investments for the IPL, which will follow later this year, as the tournament seems to be more popular with women. Some suggest that "too much cricket" has rubbed spectators the wrong way.
Sports channels that have failed to win broadcasting rights for either of these big events have been affected particularly badly. The worst sufferers are Zee Sports and Ten Sports (a part of Taj Entertainment Network in which Zee has a majority stake), who lost more than Rs100 crore in the December quarter, following the premature termination of broadcast rights for the Asian Games. The cricket Test matches and tournaments that these channels have hosted have had very few spectators.
However, media experts are not giving up hope yet. "In our estimation, the interest level will continue till 20 March 2011, when India plays the West Indies," Mr Sathyamurthy said. Heavyweight non-India matches that feature Pakistan, Holland, South Africa and the West Indies have also generated considerable interest and it is expected that they will also contribute to good ratings.
NP Sathyamurthy, CEO, Karishma Initiative, said, "India matches have given an average TVR of 10-plus. It is evident that this year's World Cup has been viewed with much higher interest than in 2007." TVR stands for television viewer ratings which is a measurement of the popularity of a programme or advertisement in a target audience.
After India's disastrous performance in 2007 World Cup, which was cut short by the humiliating defeat at the hands of Bangladesh, fans and broadcasters were looking forward to better show this time round. But while India's performance cannot be described as stellar by any account, it has ensured enough ratings and advertising revenues to keep most people happy.
In 2007, the total 51 matches pulled an average of 2.06 TVR. This time, with a total 49 matches, the tournament has seen a top rating of 12.63 TVR, which is a huge improvement. Pratap Bose, CEO, Mudra Max, asserts that the ratings have been "higher than expected", with the India-Bangladesh and India-England matches garnering an average TVR of 9 and 12 respectively.
Overall, advertising revenues have been reasonably good. The broadcasters' strategy to give access to advertisers to most Indian matches has worked well and has generated good revenues. However, advertisers are worried that post India's loss to South Africa, the ratings may drop. As it is, the kind of euphoria that erupted when India reached the finals in 2003 is missing. An analyst from Edelweiss said, "With India being the host, some more enthusiasm was expected. Cricket continues to be the most popular game in India, but the cup mania could have been more."
Where did cricket, 'India's secular religion', falter? The answer may lie in the Indian Premier League (IPL). It has been reported that advertisers have reserved investments for the IPL, which will follow later this year, as the tournament seems to be more popular with women. Some suggest that "too much cricket" has rubbed spectators the wrong way.
Sports channels that have failed to win broadcasting rights for either of these big events have been affected particularly badly. The worst sufferers are Zee Sports and Ten Sports (a part of Taj Entertainment Network in which Zee has a majority stake), who lost more than Rs100 crore in the December quarter, following the premature termination of broadcast rights for the Asian Games. The cricket Test matches and tournaments that these channels have hosted have had very few spectators.
However, media experts are not giving up hope yet. "In our estimation, the interest level will continue till 20 March 2011, when India plays the West Indies," Mr Sathyamurthy said. Heavyweight non-India matches that feature Pakistan, Holland, South Africa and the West Indies have also generated considerable interest and it is expected that they will also contribute to good ratings.
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