Disney Star’s viewership increases by 47% and its TV rating rises by 29% for the opening IPL match

The first match saw a 47% on-year increase in consumption, according to Disney Star, the official television broadcaster of the Indian Premier League. A 29% increase in TV ratings was also reported. The broadcaster reported that for the debut match between Gujarat Titans and Chennai Super Kings on March 31, it recorded a total of 870 crore minutes of TV consumption.

On the first day, 14 core viewers watched the live broadcast, which included the opening ceremony, which attracted 13 crore people. The massive increase in viewing time, according to Sanjog Gupta, Head – Sports, Disney Star, “is testament to the success of our campaign, focus on building virtues of Star Sports’ broadcast, continuing dominance of linear Television as the preferred platform for uninterrupted viewing of live Cricket and most of all, the deep relationship we share with Cricket fans.”

Using BARC data, Disney Star stated to have observed a strong 29% increase in TVR from the last IPL season. For the first time this year, two different companies acquired the IPL’s television and digital streaming rights. As Reliance acquired the majority of the IPL broadcasting rights (for 2023–2027) for a total of Rs 23,758 crore, Viacom is providing free streaming of IPL 2023 on its OTT JioCinema.

Disney Star paid Rs 23,575 crore to acquire the television rights for the Indian subcontinent. Two companies are broadcasting the matches separately on two different platforms for the first time, in India and other countries.

Previously, Disney Hotstar streamed the matches. Last week, according to Viacom18, over 6 crore unique people watched the Gujarat Titans vs. Chennai Super Kings match, which peaked at over 1.6 crore viewers on JioCinema. On Day 1 of the match, JioCinema had 50 crore total views, it continued. Disney Star reported that more over 20 crore viewers watched the TATA IPL 2023 build-up programming before the tournament began on Friday.

“Star Sports is optimistic that the ‘Shor’ (cheer) will continue as fans enjoy the action on television,” the statement continued. “With a host of exclusive surround programming and technology innovation, the broadcaster is setting a new precedent in how the marquee tournament is watched.”