| MUMBAI:
It is not just the major cities in India that are tuning in to the DLF Indian
Premier League (IPL). Even people in the smaller cities that do not have a franchise
are at least showing initial interest. Tam
data c&s 4+ all-India shows that the first match between Bangalore and Kolkata
played on 18 April had a healthy TVR of 7.22. In comparison, the TVR for the six
metros was higher at 8.22. Gujarat
has taken to the IPL in a big way, recording a TVR of 9.7.
Andhra Pradesh, though, is not excited yet and managed only a TVR of 3.4. For
the match between Delhi and Rajasthan on 19 April, the all-India ratings were
at 5. The gap in ratings with the six metros wasn't big with the TVR standing
at 5.67. In
Gujarat the TVR was 7.7 while in Andhra pradesh it was 2.6. For
the match between Chennai and Mohali on 19 April, the all-India TVR was 4.5 while
for the six cities it was 5.99. Organisers
though would be hoping that future matches at least maintain the 4.5 TVR, if not
more at the all-India level. One must bear in mind the fact that India matches
during the T20 World Cup touched a rating of 15. One
good statistic is that 35 per cent of viewership has come from the 35+ age bracket.
The aim of the BCCI was to make the IPL a family viewing experience and the fact
that a lot of people over 35 are tuning in shows that it has succeeded in its
attempt - at least initially. The T20 format may be a young man's game but there
is no age barrier when it comes to viewership. The
15-24 year TG contributed 27 per cent to viewership. Not surprisingly 64 per cent
of the audience was male. Still 36 per cent is a healthy number for female viewers.
SEC A contributed 20 per cent to viewership while SEC B contributed 28 per cent
as did SEC D and E. SEC C contributed 24 per cent. There
is one untested issue, though: how well IPL competes with the GECs on weekdays.
What has been good is that the matches are getting closer and more competitive
which will help fight off viewer fatigue. Mindshare's
Amin Lakhani is enthused about the opening peformance as also with the fact that
women are tuning in. "For the entire IPL, I would hope for an average TVR
of 4.5 among males at least. A TVR of 5.5 would make me happy. I don't think that
sustaining an average TVR of 5 over the event will be difficult given its duration.
Also when the matches start the fare on GEC channels is not that compelling to
provide a strong enough alternative," he said. | 
