MUMBAI: With nail-biting last-ball thrillers and multiple last over finishes, the 12th season of the VIVO IPL has been an absolute treat for cricket fans. Viewership records have been smashed out of the park with Star Network broadcasting the tournament in eight languages, witnessing an overall reach increase of 12% from last year. Television viewership reached a phenomenal 27.3 mn* average impressions registering a growth of 15%* setting a tournament viewership record. The total reach for the VIVO IPL 2019 stood at a mammoth 462 mn. The total consumption increased from 300 billion minutes to 338 billion minutes making it the highest ever in VIVO IPL history!

Regional growth story in numbers

Personalizing the experience with dedicated new regional sports channels, curated content for all members of the family, an exciting campaign and a host of innovative programming initiatives fueled growth across consumer segments, especially amongst kids and women.

Growth per demographic

Commentating on the success, Gautam Thakar, CEO, Star Sports said, “I am delighted that VIVO IPL 2019 was the biggest ever! This year, the strong regional strategy of having four independent dedicated language channels in Tamil, Telugu, Bangla and Kannada, the Select Dugout and Super Funday feed contributed immensely to the increased reach of VIVO IPL. The exciting Summer of Cricket on our network began with a spectacular IPL and will continue with the upcoming ICC Cricket World Cup. On behalf of the Star Sports Network, I would like to thank all stakeholders who have contributed to make VIVO IPL 2019 a grand success.”

Game Ne Banaya Name

True to what VIVO IPL is known for, the 2019 edition saw some Game Banayega Name moments with the rapid rise of some of the best Indian talent. Be it the gutsy Riyan Parag, or the youngest VIVO IPL captain this season Shreyas Iyer, or the coming of age performances by Prithvi Shaw and Shubman Gill or the spin twins Rahul Chahar and Shreyas Gopal – these names have left the Indian selectors spoilt for choices. The tournament provided these players a perfect platform - where opportunity truly met talent.

Personalizing the experience for fans

After the tremendous response to a reimagined VIVO IPL last year, Star upped the ante for broadcast of VIVO IPL 2019. India’s leading sports broadcaster added a host of innovative broadcast and programming to completely personalise the experience of the tournament, keeping fans at the heart of everything. The Select Dugout 2.0 for example continued to be a fan favourite as new experts, deeper analysis and more live demos ensured core cricket fans stayed ahead of the game. Those who preferred to dabble with humour, entertainment and fun along with some serious cricket were in for a treat as every Sunday was turned into a Super Funday. The feed saw kids as anchors and presenters interviewing some cricketers and Bollywood personalities whilst also indulging them in some fun and games through the season. The Super Funday feed was viewed by 160 mn people.  The regional customised feeds were viewed by 194 mn*** viewers for a total of 75 billion minutes consumption.

Women’s T20 Challenge breaks records- first match grabs 5 mn impressions!

Touted by many as the impetus women’s cricket needed, Star Sports scaled up the broadcast of the Women’s T20 Challenge to help ensure more and more fans tune-in for the games. The result of the same is quite evident with the response from the fans. The first game of the Women’s T20 Challenge between Supernovas and Trailblazers led by Team India T20 captain Harmanpreet Kaur and left-handed opener Smriti Mandhana saw the highest reach for any Women’s T20 game at 41 mn viewers. The total reach for the four games stood at 74 mn viewers.  

The Big invite for the grand Finale

Prior to the much-awaited VIVO IPL 2019 grand finale between two of the most successful VIVO IPL teams – MI and CSK, second edition of #SelectDugoutDebate was closely contested with predictions on ‘Who will win world’s toughest T20 finals?’ from Star Sports Select Experts. The Presidential style debate moderated by veteran journalist Rajdeep Sardesai was broadcast on India Today TV and Star Sports Network. The #SelectDugoutDebate reached 4.3 mn viewers. There is no doubt that the IPL finale which saw Mumbai Indians winning the title for a historic 4th time was indeed a thriller. There was no shortage of action, reactions, drama and glamour on the field and to add more glamour to the broadcast of the grand finale, Star Sports hosted Bollywood Super Stars Salman Khan and Katrina Kaif to be a part of the proprietary show #CricketLive. Salman Khan who did commentary on the Super Funday feed during the grand finale spoke about his love for MS Dhoni and how cricket is an integral part of his daily life despite his hectic schedule.

Summer of Cricket the Star Sports Network continues with ICC Cricket World Cup 2019 #CricketKaCrown

Starting May 24th, all the warm matches will be broadcast on the Star Sports Network. #CricketLive the networks flagship preshow is back for all the warm up matches with LIVE broadcast beginning at 1.30 pm. #SelectDugout will also be back for two India matches played against New Zealand and Bangladesh on May 25th and May 28th, respectively.

Starting May 30th, the tournament will be broadcast LIVE on the Star Sports Network. In the tournament opener, the host nation England will face South Africa on May 30th. India will start their World cup campaign against South Africa on June 5th followed by Australia and New Zealand on 9th and 13th June respectively. The much-anticipated clash between India and Pakistan is scheduled to be played on 16th June 2019.