IPL: Connected TV ecosystem gets big boost from free IPL streaming
“We are seeing a surge in connected TV coverage this year. After five weeks, access to CTV will be double that of HDTV. This year we also made IPL streaming free for all network subscribers. The removal of paywalls has expanded our options,” Viacom18 Sports CEO Anil Jayaraj told ET.
Madison World Chairman Sam Balsara said CTV is a great proposition because it gives marketers TV brand building capabilities along with more precise digital targeting.
“For IPL, CTV was sold based on total reach; at least it gave you the opportunity to reach a limited audience, perhaps with much more purchasing power. This is a new and important event in this year’s IPL. Until last year, the number of CTVs was very small, but now we have pretty good numbers for CTVs,” he said.
Mediasmart Vice President for India, South East Asia and the Middle East, owned by Affle, Nikhil Kumar said that CTV received support from the free broadcast of IPL, given the fact that cricket is akin to a religion in India, and IPL is one of the most popular sports. sports. events in the country.
“IPL streaming through CTV and OTT platforms such as Jio Cinema is expected to further increase the popularity of CTV. The emergence of a new segment of viewers who tune in to IPLs on Jio Cinemas through their CTVs will likely be the driving force behind this growth,” he added.
In a recent interview with ET, Finecast Global CEO Nicola Lewis said that WPP’s specialist media division is optimistic about CTV growth in India. “The total number of CTV households is expected to rise from 25 million this year to 45 million by 2025,” she said. Nikola also revealed that 28% of the new customers that came to the Finecast ecosystem worldwide came from India. Finecast, launched in India last year, is helping advertisers capitalize on the popularity of broadcast content on TV and digital.
Jayaraj said that more than 40 advertisers in categories such as international brands, financial services, e-commerce and automobiles advertise exclusively on CTV.
“From 78 spots (average per match) in the first week, it reached 94 spots (per match) in the fourth week, representing a 20 percent increase,” he said. JioCinema rated their CTV commercials at 6.5 lakh per 10 seconds for an IPL.
Mediasmart’s Kumar said IPL has the potential to bring new advertisers into the CTV universe as many advertisers are already digital today.
“We are seeing shorter inter-frame commercials continue to be the norm, with 6-second and 15-second commercials driving ad dynamics on CTV IPL. This is in line with the fact that live CTV ads provide limited reach. to a longer commercial,” he noted.