Unlocking premium – 110+ mn affluent viewers makes World Cup on HD the elite choice for advertisers

The festive season is shaping up to be a massive opportunity for advertisers wanting to reach premium viewers to drive brand and business impact. According to a Festive Pulse Survey by The Trade Desk, 70% of consumers are ready to spend more this Diwali, with the interest to buy premium products leading the charge. 84% are likely to spend on luxury goods and apparels, 69% on consumer electronics and 65% on personal care products. With the World Cup coming up, premium brands have a proven destination with HD viewership reaching unmatched heights in 2023. 

HD homes comprise 33% of total TV universe in India

Cricket viewership on television has been on a record-breaking spree for over a year and the growth of HD homes and HD viewership for cricket have been critical components of this successful run. As per BARC, HD homes have grown by 30% to 73 million in 2023 and the HD viewership for IPL 2023 was the winner, amassing a massive 109 million viewers (Over 2X compared to 2022).  The addressable audience for HD in India stands at 220 million, making HD homes 33% of the total TV universe in India. To add to its strength, 71% of HD viewers are from NCCS AB strata with 3X higher affinity for HD among NCCS A audiences in Megacities, driving ownership for the cream of affluent audiences. The ongoing Asia Cup has already set the ground running for HD viewership driving close to 5X higher reach compared to the previous edition, as per BARC.

HD associations drive unmatched impact for advertisers

Advertisers across categories such as FMCG, Auto, BFSI, E-Commerce and Travel have reaped large-scale benefits from HD associations on cricket. A YouGov Brand Lift Study conducted during IPL 2023 revealed significantly high impact for HD advertisers with 2.5X higher Brand Awareness and 2.7X higher Consideration among viewers. In terms of bottom funnel metrics, HD has empowered brands to drive 3X higher app downloads and 2X higher sales during major cricket events. Speaking on the power of Cricket on HD at panel discussion recently, Sai Narayan (Policy Bazaar) shared how the HD association was a gamechanger for the brand. “Our big move was when we leveraged HD feed on TV and the results were fantastic. There was a time during the tournament when our website could not bear the load from visitors because that quantum of people viewing our ads on HD was that large.”

Cricket World Cup on HD – A scale like none other

With a targeted reach of 600 mn+ on television as per senior executives at leading agencies, the World Cup could surpass all previous viewership records across major cricketing events. Cricket World Cup’s observe a distinct lean forward viewing behaviour and are the largest aggregation of co-viewers bringing friends and families together like a festive celebration. As per industry sources, Official Broadcaster Star Sports is seeing high traction for HD and has onboarded multiple sponsors and advertisers for the upcoming World Cup. With cricket viewership on TV breaking records in the run-up megaevent, the World Cup could be one for the ages for viewers and advertisers.

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