MAM
No dramatic change in Champions League T20 ratings
MUMBAI: Despite four Indian Premier League (IPL) teams taking part and Shah Rukh Khan being used as brand ambassador for the event, the recently concluded Nokia Champions League Twenty20 did not see any dramatic change in ratings.
Even the triumph of Mumbai Indians did not help host broadcaster ESPN Star Sports (ESS) much, indicating that the format will take time to find widespread popularity.
TAM data (c&s, 4+, All India) shows that the event averaged a TVR of 1.64 (not including the qualifying event), marginally up from 1.44 TVR that it recorded last year. Including the qualifying event, the whole tourney this time averaged 1.45 TVR.
Reach, however, expanded to 87 million compared to 78 million last year.
The final match got a TVR of 3.51 compared to 3.30 TVR last year. If there was any improvement, it was in the delivery of the semifinals. They averaged 2.74 TVR this season, compared to 1.34 TVR last year.
MPG senior director R Venkatasubramanian feels that the event needs a bigger marketing push as foreign teams are taking part. “Cricket fans know about the IPL and the players. Marketing needs to be done for the foreign teams. That would create a sense of anticipation among fans. There should also be on-ground activation.”
An ESPN Star Sports spokesperson, however, said the event‘s performance has been in line with their expectations.
MAM
JioStar unveils ‘The Winning Edge’ playbook for live cricket advertisers
Data-led guide shows multi-screen, sponsorship strategies drive higher impact
MUMBAI: JioStar has launched ‘The Winning Edge’, a data-backed advertising playbook aimed at helping brands maximise impact on live cricket, positioning the sport as one of the most powerful marketing platforms in India.
Built using billions of impression-level data points across marquee cricket properties and validated through studies by Kantar, the playbook offers practical insights into how brands can drive measurable outcomes such as awareness, recall and purchase intent.
The findings make a strong case for live cricket as a growth engine for both new and established brands. According to the report, new advertisers on live cricket campaigns saw up to 6.9 times higher brand awareness and up to 10.8 times higher purchase intent compared to industry benchmarks. Established brands also recorded gains, with up to four times higher awareness and nearly five times higher purchase intent.
Speaking about the initiative, JioStar head of sales sports Anup Govindan said, “The Winning Edge, developed in partnership with Kantar, is built on rigorous, data-backed analysis of how real brands have performed on our platform across categories, objectives, budgets, formats and tournament phases. The study reaffirms that when it comes to driving real outcomes such as awareness, consideration and purchase intent, nothing matches the intensity, scale and impact of live cricket. The depth of attention and emotional engagement during live moments creates a multiplier effect that non-live environments simply cannot replicate.”
One of the standout insights is the advantage of multi-screen strategies. Campaigns that ran simultaneously across linear TV, connected TV and mobile delivered up to seven times higher purchase intent than single-platform campaigns, with minimal audience overlap ensuring incremental reach.
The playbook also highlights the impact of combining formats. Brands using both video and display formats saw up to 7.4 times higher brand awareness compared to those relying on video alone.
Sponsorships emerged as another key lever. Brands with formal sponsorship deals recorded up to nine times higher purchase intent and up to eight times higher ad awareness than those opting only for standard inventory buys. Adding pre and post live studio programming further boosted aided awareness by up to 2.1 times.
Crucially, the report identifies high-impact in-match moments such as Super 4s, Super 6s, DRS and fall of wickets as prime opportunities for brands. Campaigns aligned with these moments delivered uplifts of up to 10 times in awareness and up to seven times in recall, reinforcing the value of contextual advertising.
Echoing these findings, Kantar managing director and chief client & solutions officer Soumya Mohanty said, “Numerous Kantar Brand Lift Studies have demonstrated the incremental impact of live cricket advertising, with results consistently ranking at the top end of Kantar’s Brand Lift database. This playbook distils those insights into actionable media planning and creative recommendations to help advertisers drive stronger outcomes in live cricket environments.”
With live cricket continuing to draw massive, highly engaged audiences, JioStar is positioning ‘The Winning Edge’ as a blueprint for brands looking to move beyond visibility and towards measurable impact.
As the competition for consumer attention intensifies, the message is clear. In the world of sports marketing, playing smart may matter just as much as showing up.
