Going forward, no one should charge for cricket: Anil Jayaraj
The CEO of Viacom18 Sports spoke to e4m Editor Naziya Alvi Rahman on the recently-concluded IPL’s viewership and revenue numbers, the strategy so far and the way forward
With the sporting extravaganza of IPL 2023 coming to an end, it was time for us to catch up with Anil Jayaraj, CEO of Viacom18 Sports. In an engaging conversation, he spoke to e4m Editor Naziya Alvi Rahman about hitting viewership and revenue numbers, his strategy for the big-ticket cricket property and what worked for him to achieve his goals.
Below are edited excerpts:
You recently claimed that you have achieved your IPL targets. Can you explain the same to us?
We are quite delighted that both from the revenue and viewership point of you we have hit the numbers that we were chasing. However, IPL is not an isolated one, we started with FIFA and then we had South Africa 20, WPL etc. IPL, of course, scaled the size of it.
Despite high viewership numbers, as per sources in the media industry, this year IPL failed to attract much revenue as the market was soft. What do you have to say on the same?
Our viewership numbers did help us achieve the numbers we were chasing on revenue. I can share a few things that worked out for us. Firstly, connected TV viewership hit a massive record. As per our estimates, around 12 crore people viewed IPL on CTV. Second was the scale that we offered since IPL viewing was free. Thirdly, was the number of advertisers that collaborated with us - 800+ advertisers joined us during the IPL.
A lot of your revenue seems to have come from SMBs and small-ticket clients. Can you share more insights on the same?
SMBs played a crucial role in our journey but it will be incorrect to say that a large part of our revenue came from there. We definitely had an SMB-specific strategy. We collaborated with many specialised agencies that work with SMBs and helped us reach out to those customers. It was a very successful collaboration. We ensured that any brand, big or small, should have access to IPL. But having said that, a large pie of our revenue came from bigger clients.
How much did showcasing IPL for free help you meet your revenue and viewership numbers?
We were doubly delighted. It was not just about being free but also frictionless. One had to just download the app and then see it on the mobile phone or connect it with the TV. I seriously doubt that going forward anyone would charge for cricket.
What were some of the best categories (brands) for you in this IPL season in terms of advertising?
The advantage of digital is that we had a wide variety of brands advertising with us. We had fantasy gaming, FMCG, beverages, mouth fresheners, fashion and eCommerce among others. Almost all categories advertised with us.
Which are some of the categories that restrained from spending on digital and you may want to engage better with them in the next season?
Edutech is definitely a category we would want to make a comeback and advertise with us. Otherwise, all the categories were very much there on digital. In fact, barring 3 or 4 brands, almost all brands spent more on digital this year as compared to the other medium.
Going forward, will your strategy be any different from what it was for IPL 2023?
Usually, strategies are relatively long-term. The strategy this year was about having no barriers to access, and democratising the platform for advertisers. We won’t change these two things. Of course, going forward, we will keep looking at things that will add more value to our customers. We have got massive success with 4K and the language feeds this year. So, strategy-wise I don’t think we will change much. In fact, I suspect a lot of other people will follow our strategy.
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IPL 2023: 17 new categories & 88 new brands advertised in 63 matches so far
According to a TAM report, Pan Masala maintains its position as the top spender on TV during 63 matches in IPL 16
By e4m Desk | May 19, 2023 2:25 PM | 2 min read
As many as 17 new advertising categories and 88 new brands advertised in the first 63 matches of TATA IPL this year compared to the same number of matches in IPL 15, according to a TAM advertising report.
Pan Masala continues to be the top spender, beating fantasy sports/ecomm gaming category, which has been maintaining its top position since the last IPL.
The latest report states that Pan Masala, which was consistently second after ecomm gaming in the first 44 matches, now contributes to 16 % of ad volume. Ecomm gaming has 14 % share in ad volume, the report said.
In IPL 16, these two categories managed to be in the top five advertising categories throughout the 63 matches.
Compared to the 63 matches during the last IPL, the share of Pan Masala increased from 7% to 16% and for ecomm gaming it was the same at 14%.
Apart from these two, the other categories in the top five are aerated soft drinks (9%), biscuits (9%) and cellular phone services (7%), which means three out of five top categories are food and beverages.
Collectively, the top five categories in IPL 16 together had 55% share of Ad Volumes while top five advertisers contributed 38% share of Ad Volumes during 63 matches this season.
Sporta Technologies was the leading advertiser during all 63 matches with 10 % share in Ad Volumes compared to 7% last IPL season.
Among the 88 new brands, ‘Airtel 5G Plus’ was the leading brand followed by Thums Up Charged, Rupay Credit, Airtel 5G Plus-Apple iPhone 14 Pro, and ‘Rajshree Silver Coated Elaichi’.
Top advertisers for this year’s IPL are Sporta Technologies (Dream11.com), K P Pan Foods, Parle Biscuits, Coca Cola India and Bharti Airtel.
The percentage share (based on Ad Volumes) of Sporta Technologies (Dream11.com) and K P Pan Foods, increased from 7% and 4%, respectively in IPL 15 to 10% and 8% in IPL 16.
Top five new advertising categories are biscuits, moisturising lotions, ecom-travel and tourism, dry-fruit and luggage.
The report also mentioned common and exclusive brands on national sports channels versus regional sports channels in IPL 16.
A total of 13 exclusive brands were seen on national (Hindi and English language) sports channels while 18 exclusive brands made it to regional language sports channels during the 63 matches this IPL.
Dream11.com, an online sports gaming platform, was leading the list of common brands on both regional and Hindi + English sports channels during the 63 matches.
As many as 87 brands were common on both channel categories during the 54 matches this IPL, the report said.
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IPL ‘Rivary Week’ saw record-breaking 2.1 cr new viewers: Disney Star
The addition of new users also took the network's viewership to 47.14 crore in the first 57 games, the highest in IPL history for the same stage
By e4m Desk | May 19, 2023 12:44 PM | 2 min read
Disney Star Network announced on Thursday that it broke viewership records for IPL, adding nearly 2.1 crore new users during “rivalry week” or week 6 of Tata IPL 2023.
With the addition of the new users live broadcast viewership has gone up to 47.14 crore in the first 57 games, the highest in IPL history at the same stage, said the company in its press release.
Week 6 of IPL is an initiative by Disney Star Network where popular rival teams from South and North clash.
In week 6, seven matches crossed peak concurrency of three crores with the Mumbai Indians versus Royal Challengers Bangalore match posting a peak concurrency of 4.7 crore, the highest in Rivalry Week.
The network also said that it witnessed a year-on-year growth of more than 44% in Weekly TVR, compared to the previous edition of the tournament.
The network’s rivalry week also comprised special programming with segments like Ask Star, Incredible Moments and Down the Memory Lane. It also introduced new show segments like Fan Battles, Versus and Rival Games and India’s No.1 Cricket show – Jindal Panther Cricket Live.
"Disney Star is building the highly anticipated 'Race To The Playoffs', from 23rd May 2023, through a host of initiatives across live coverage, programming, and fan engagement. The league is at its competitive best with 5 teams still fighting for the remaining three playoff spots, with Gujarat Titans already qualified," said the network.
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CSK fans get a clarion call from Sunfeast Supermilk Biscuits
The brand has released a fan anthem - ‘Ready Madi Adi’ to celebrate the undying spirit and the unbridled passion of the Chennai Super Kings fanbase
By e4m Desk | May 16, 2023 2:54 PM | 2 min read
Sunfeast Supermilk Biscuits from ITC Foods, has released a fan anthem - ‘Ready Madi Adi’ (Get Ready…Fold your Fingers..Blow a Whistle in Tamil) - to celebrate the undying spirit and the unbridled passion of the Chennai Super Kings fanbase. With the season in full swing & SuperKings registering a Strong performance, Sunfeast Supermilk Biscuits is thrilled to offer a new way for Chennai Super Kings fans to show their support for their favourite team. Created with foot-tapping music, the anthem is a catchy and upbeat track that captures the essence of what it means to be a Chennai Super Kings fan.
The anthem encapsulates the true spirit of the game & is a clarion call to all the CSK fans to blow a strong whistle and show support to their favourite team. It has been sung and composed by Tenma while the lyrics were penned by creative agency Mind Your Language from Chennai. This anthem further strengthens the brand’s partnership with CSK and the messaging of #StrongaaWhistlePodu’, where fans are asked to not just do a normal whistle for their team this season but to have the Strong Milk Biscuit & do a Strong Whistle for CSK.
Speaking about the launch of the anthem Mr. Ali Harris Shere, Chief Operating Officer, Biscuits & Cakes Cluster, Foods Division, ITC Ltd. said, “Celebrating the fandom of CSK, the ‘Ready Madi Adi’ fan anthem is an attempt by Sunfeast Supermilk to create a deeper connection with the audience and further amplify our #StrongaaWhistlePodu’ campaign. The team has a massive fan following and this anthem aims to celebrate the spirit of these fans and their love for their team.”
Sivamani, a renowned drummer, who has covered the anthem in his own inimitable style said, “I’ve been huge supporter of Chennai Super Kings since the first season. As a Superfan, I’m happy to be partnering with Sunfeast Supermilk for the ‘Ready Madi Adi’ fan anthem. It was so catchy that I had to make a cover version myself! I’m geared up to cheer for CSK with a Strong Whistle!”.
The anthem will be further amplified through promotions on Moj platform with a hashtag challenge. The brand has collaborated with CSK to launch it across all of its social media channels and has engage with CSK fans and influencers like Saravanan and Sivamani to create content using this anthem.
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IPL 2023: 18 new categories & 83 new brands advertised in first 54 matches this year
According to TAM report, Pan Masala beat ecommerce gaming category to take the top position on TV during IPL 16
By e4m Desk | May 15, 2023 7:00 PM | 3 min read
As many as 18 new advertising categories and 83 new brands advertised in the first 54 matches of TATA IPL this year compared to the same number of matches in IPL 15, according to a TAM advertising report. Pan Masala category beat fantasy sports/ecomm gaming category, which has been maintaining its top position since the last IPL.
The latest report states that Pan Masala, which was consistently second after ecomm gaming in the first 44 matches, now contributes to 16 % of ad volume. ecommm gaming has a 15 % share in ad volume, the latest report said.
In IPL 16, these two categories managed to be in the top five advertising categories throughout 54 matches.
Compared to the last IPL, the share of Pan Masala increased by 9% and of ecomm gaming by 1 %.
While fantasy sports/ecomm gaming had a 14 % share in the first 54 matches in IPL 15, this year it has recorded 15% and Pan Masala, which had a 7 % share of Ad volume last year, reached 16% this time, the report said.
Apart from these two, the other categories in the top five are aerated soft drinks (10%), biscuits (9%) and cellular phone service (7%), which means three out of the five top categories are food and beverages.
Collectively, the top five categories in IPL 16 together had a 55% share of Ad Volumes while the top five advertisers contributed a 39% share of Ad Volumes during 54 matches this season.
Sporta Technologies was the leading advertiser during all 54 matches with an 11 % share in Ad Volumes compared to 7% last IPL season.
Among the 83 new brands, ‘Airtel 5G Plus’ was the leading brand followed by Rupay Credit, Thums Up Charged, ‘Rajshree Silver Coated Elaichi’, and Airtel 5G Plus-Apple iPhone 14 Pro, which replaced Parle Platina Hide and Seek Black Bourbon.
Top advertisers for this year’s IPL are Sporta Technologies (Dream11.com), K P Pan Foods, Bharti Airtel, Parle Biscuits and Vishnu Packaging.
The percentage share (based on Ad Volumes) of Sporta Technologies (Dream11.com) and K P Pan Foods, increased from 7% and 5%, respectively in IPL 15 to 11% and 8% in IPL 16.
The top five new advertising categories are biscuits, moisturising lotions, ecomm-travel and tourism, ecomm-auto products and services, and luggage.
The report also mentioned common and exclusive brands on national sports channels versus regional sports channels in IPL 16.
A total of 11 exclusive brands were seen on national (Hindi and English language) sports channels while 17 exclusive brands made it to regional language sports channels during the 54 matches this IPL.
Dream11.com, an online sports gaming platform, was leading the list of common brands on both regional and Hindi + English sports channels during the 54 matches.
As many as 85 brands were common in both channel categories during the 54 matches this IPL, the report said.
Coca-Cola advertised its two brands - Maaza Aam Panna, which was the top exclusive brand on Hindi + English language sports channels, and Maaza which led the exclusive brands on regional sports channels.
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