IPL on HD TV – The home of premium audiences

Disney Star aims for 90 million HD viewers on IPL 2023 with HD homes scaling new heights, the launch of HD channels in high viewership markets and the dominating preference of premium viewers to watch IPL on HD.

For advertisers looking to target premium audiences, IPL on HD TV continues to be the go-to platform on account of the sheer scale of audiences, fast-paced growth of HD homes and overarching preference of viewers for watching lag-free live sports action on the big screen.

A Gulf of Scale: HD homes 7X of CTV

As per BARC, HD TV homes have scaled to 70 million in India, covering over 25% of the overall TV universe. The platform has a mammoth potential reach of 200 million audiences, a scale of 7X of connected TV in India. Not only is the universe for connected TV in India miniscule compared to HD TV, but also lacks exclusivity for any incremental scale as 95% of CTV homes in India are HD homes.

IPL and live sports at the heart of HD viewing in India

9 out of 10 HD homes in India watch sports on HD channels, exhibiting the choice of sports fans seeking the best live sports viewing experience on TV, as per BARC. 81% of HD viewers in India are from NCCS AB with 3X higher affinity among NCCS A audiences in megacities. A Kantar research in 2022 shows that nearly two-thirds of sports viewers preferred HD over CTV. A lag-free viewing experience is sacrosanct for live sports viewers, especially in a fast-paced event like IPL. This is a natural phenomenon witnessed even in the US which has a high penetration of paid OTT platforms, with TV viewership for the Super Bowl over 10X as opposed to digital.

IPL on HD audiences a perfect fit for premium brands

As per a study by Kantar, HD viewers on IPL are users of premium products and services. The study mentions that HD viewers are 4X likely to own premium smartphones above Rs 40,000, 10X more likely to own a Rs10+ Lakh car and 18X more likely to own hotel/resort memberships compared to the average IPL viewer. The sheer size of the HD universe in India makes the platform an ideal choice for advertisers looking to target affluent audiences. 

Disney Star unlocks massive potential on IPL with the launch of south language sports HD channels

Official broadcaster Disney Star has opened new doors for advertisers with the launch of Star Sports Tamil HD and Star Sports Telugu HD ahead of IPL 2023. Both these markets have consistently been significant contributors to TV viewership in their regional languages and the launch of HD channels will give the broadcaster and advertisers a big boost this IPL. A massive bouquet of 22+ channels, the launch of two HD channels and 10+ language feeds give advertisers a massive canvas during IPL 2023.

CTV in India – A scale too small for advertisers to make an impact

The scale of CTV in India has been a concern for advertisers and has not been able to play up to the hype around it. CTV is witnessing a reality check in India, as has been unravelled by credible industry reports over the last year. As per reports published by CII & KPMG, EY-FICCI and MediaSmart, CTV penetration in India ranges between 10-14 million homes, which is less than 5% of India’s TV universe. Infrastructural challenges like massively low penetration of high-speed internet connections and miniscule cord-cutting limits the scale of CTV in India to 0.5 million homes, 5% of India’s TV universe.

A very miniscule number of smart TVs in India are CTVs. The penetration of wired broadband in India that drives high-speed connectivity to power CTVs is currently limited to ~12 million homes in India as per a TRAI report in 2022 and has witnessed a significantly sluggish growth after.

Among premium viewers, HD TV is the go-to destination during IPL and come summer, advertisers will be keen on reaping massive benefits of the growing scale of HD viewers.

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