Our IPL pricing a fair reflection of advertiser demand: JioStar’s Ishan Chatterjee

New Delhi: As IPL 2025 marks its 18th season, the stakes have never been higher for brands looking to tap into India's biggest sporting spectacle. The industry is eager to see how JioStar will "change the game" in terms of experience and ROI.

According to Ishan Chatterjee, Chief Business Officer, Sports Revenue, SMB & Creator at JioStar, this IPL season is the "Year of the Advertiser," and the media giant is pulling out all the stops to excite brands.

Reliance’s Campa Cola and My11Circle have already signed on as IPL 2025 sponsors, with several other sponsorship deals in the pipeline.

In an interaction with BestMediaInfo.com, Chatterjee highlighted JioStar's latest innovations, including premium audience targeting through CTV and high-end mobile devices, a stronger focus on female viewership, and advanced location targeting.

To top it off, JioStar has partnered with Nielsen to provide third-party validation of campaign metrics, giving advertisers even greater confidence in their IPL investments.

This year, JioStar aims to make IPL more accessible than ever, particularly for SMBs, through its roadshows across 10 cities. 

The company is also bridging the gap between TV and digital with interactive ad formats, such as scannable action replays and Star Deals, enabling direct consumer engagement.

The Neuron Study further reinforces IPL’s value, revealing that ad engagement during live sports far exceeds user-generated content platforms.

In this interview, Chatterjee sheds light on JioStar’s strategy, the strong advertiser demand, and how the company is leveraging cutting-edge ad solutions to make IPL the ultimate platform for brands in 2025.

Excerpts: 

What’s new in store for advertisers this season?

We are witnessing an unprecedented demand for advertising this season. Advertisers' interest in the IPL remains strong for three key reasons. First, the reach and scale that the IPL offers are unparalleled. Last year, the tournament reached 525 million viewers on TV and 425 million on handheld digital devices. Additionally, the level of engagement observed in bilateral series and the Champions Trophy so far makes us highly optimistic that IPL 2025 will surpass one billion viewers. The ability to achieve such massive reach and engagement over two months solidifies the IPL as the marquee event of the year for advertisers.

We are introducing multiple innovations for the advertisers. At JioStar, we are making this the ‘Year of the Advertiser’ by bringing several new capabilities to the table.

Let me share three key examples:

1. Premium audience targeting: Many advertisers are eager to engage directly with premium audiences. On digital, we now offer the capability to target CTV viewers, iOS users, and Android devices priced above Rs 50,000. When combined with HD TV advertising, this enables advertisers to reach a highly affluent consumer base nationwide. This feature has already generated significant advertiser interest.

2. Female viewership focus: Last year, IPL reached over 200 million female viewers on TV alone. Many female-centric brands are keen to tap into this audience, and we have enhanced our targeting capabilities to help advertisers effectively engage with this segment.

3. Advanced location targeting: We have also introduced sharper geographic targeting, which is particularly beneficial for SMBs, real estate developers, and auto dealerships. This allows advertisers to ensure their ads are displayed only in specific regions, unlocking new opportunities for local businesses to leverage IPL advertising.

The third major innovation is in measurement. For the first time in live sports, we are enabling third-party data validation through Nielsen, providing advertisers with greater confidence that their campaign metrics are being accurately measured and validated by a trusted global expert.

What specific ad solutions are available for TV advertisers this IPL?

Given the scale and engagement we’re witnessing, TV remains a crucial part of the media mix.

Now, addressing your point on innovation, several advancements are happening across the board. One key focus this year for TV is enhancing interactivity. For example, we are introducing scannable action replays. The advertiser’s logo (not a QR code) on the Action Replay is scanable. Viewers can scan it to go directly to the advertiser’s website or a specific destination. 

Another innovation is Star Deals, launched last year, which allows viewers to engage with a product, learn more about it, or even make a purchase by scanning a QR code—a feature we are continuing this year. Additionally, we are expanding language innovations and regional commentary teams, ensuring a more localised and engaging TV experience.

I want to emphasise that TV innovations remain an integral part of our overall go-to-market strategy this IPL.

A few advertisers we spoke to said they are expecting JioStar to give incentives on the back of weaker economic conditions. Your comments?

Pricing is driven by market demand dynamics. The pricing model we introduced for IPL has already been implemented for the Champions Trophy, which is currently live. Given the strong advertiser demand and engagement we've seen there, we're confident that this momentum will carry over into IPL 2025. We view our pricing as a fair reflection of advertiser demand at this moment. 

However, we are actively engaged in discussions with major advertisers and media agencies. These conversations are ongoing, and we remain confident that as we approach IPL 2025, we are in a stronger position compared to last year.

Over the years, IPL has consistently delivered in terms of reach, viewership, and engagement, giving advertisers strong confidence in its impact. Despite less bullish macroeconomic conditions, advertiser interest in IPL remains strong, as brands recognise its ability to drive results. So far, we haven't seen any signs of macroeconomic challenges slowing down the demand for IPL.

On a broader scale, the ad rate hike for TV is 9.75%, while the CPM rate for digital is kept unchanged. The slot rate hike of 30% on CTV is said to be directly proportional to the estimated audience growth. Thus making it a hike in cost. Other rate hikes are for various levels of audience targeting. It is largely because you are bound by the CCI order against an unreasonable rate hike. Plus, a lot depends on market conditions. How comfortable are you with a narrative of a 30% rate hike instead of a hike in cost on the back of a broader audience being pushed?

As mentioned earlier, pricing is driven by advertiser demand dynamics and the viewership delivered. We are confident in the pricing we have set and remain highly optimistic about IPL 2025.

You recently partnered with Nielsen to offer near-real-time campaign-level metrics to advertisers. How has this worked for you so far, and what role will this play going forward?

After launching Nielsen, we immediately introduced this new capability to advertisers and agencies, and the response has been overwhelmingly positive. FMCG brands, in particular, have shown high interest, as third-party validation plays a crucial role in media planning for both advertisers and agencies.

With IPL still three weeks away, we’ll have to see how adoption translates into actual decision-making during the tournament. However, as of now, the partnership looks very promising. We’re excited and proud of the engineering efforts that made it possible to go live just in time for IPL.

The latest addition to your arsenal is your partnership with Neurons Inc. The first of the studies shared by JioStar on LinkedIn pitches handheld devices for long-form ads. How much is this going to elevate the overall digital sales?

The Neuron Study aimed to understand how viewers engage with ads while watching live sports on our platform compared to other types of content, such as UGC (User-Generated Content) on other platforms. The study revealed that ad engagement levels are significantly higher during live sports, reinforcing IPL’s strong value proposition. Along with third-party validation from Nielsen, this insight helps us demonstrate to advertisers the impact and effectiveness of advertising on IPL and JioHotstar this season. We have already shared these findings with advertisers and agency partners, and there is strong interest in further exploring this opportunity.

How have your advertisers responded to the “paywall for loyal viewers” initiative?

We aim to democratise access to all content on our platform, reaching the widest possible audience in India. This means offering a substantial amount of free watch time to anyone visiting JioHotstar, allowing them to sample various content types, including entertainment, live sports, and cricket.

Only after viewers exhaust this free watch time are they prompted to subscribe for an uninterrupted experience. This model is already live for the Champions Trophy, where we've seen record-breaking viewership—the highest ever for an India-Pakistan match on digital platforms on Sunday.

The response confirms that this model encourages users to explore the platform’s content while also enabling us to meet advertisers' objectives. This success gives us great confidence as we carry the same approach into IPL 2025.

As several Pay TV players see this move as a sign of relief, how do you see this move impacting both broadcast and streaming businesses?

Our goal is to deliver the best viewing experience across all the content we bring to the Indian market, whether it's live sports or entertainment, while ensuring great value for money for our audience. Some users prefer to watch for free, and they will have access to a substantial amount of content to explore. Others may choose to subscribe for an uninterrupted experience, and we provide that option as well.

This flexible approach is designed to maximise overall viewership, as seen with the India-Pakistan match and the Champions Trophy so far. In turn, this strategy will drive both audience engagement and business growth.

Given the current market conditions and the optimism in the near term, which categories are expected to go full throttle this IPL and which are doubtful?

As we began planning our IPL ad strategy, we categorised the market into 40 segments to create tailored advertising solutions for each. The desired ad outcomes vary significantly—an FMCG advertiser’s goals differ from those of a fantasy gaming brand or a new product launch, so we developed customised solutions for each.

This approach has led to broader adoption within categories, extending beyond just the biggest players to a wider range of brands.

Regarding high-engagement categories, we’re seeing strong demand from:

• Beverages, as summer arrives early

• ACs, fans, and electrical appliances, with seasonal demand picking up

• BFSI & Fintech, particularly digital financial services

• Mobile handsets, with multiple upcoming launches

• Fantasy gaming, which remains highly engaged

• Quick Commerce is another category from which we are seeing interest.

These categories are showing significant interest in IPL advertising, reflecting the event’s broad appeal and effectiveness.

With just a little more than a couple of weeks to go for the mega tournament to kick off, how many sponsors are locked, and how many are you expecting to onboard?

We have already secured several sponsorship deals, though I can’t disclose exact numbers, as many brands prefer to announce their plans themselves. With just three weeks to go, we have signed up multiple sponsors and remain highly optimistic about the upcoming IPL.

Industry chatter suggests that Campa, being a Reliance-owned brand, may not significantly contribute to IPL's revenue since it is an in-house sponsorship. What are your thoughts on this?

Whatever deals we have made, including the one with Campa, are purely commercial agreements based on the same terms offered to all our major partners.

​​How have you tackled the narrative that IPL is for brands with deep pockets? It is something you have been trying hard to do over the past few years.

One of our key goals this year is to expand the advertiser base and make IPL more accessible to a wider range of advertisers, particularly SMBs.

We are taking a two-pronged approach:

1. Innovative advertising solutions: We are enhancing location-based targeting to help businesses like real estate developers, auto dealerships, and retail stores reach audiences in specific locations. Additionally, we are leveraging first-party data and collaborative opportunities with advertisers to refine targeting capabilities.

2. Roadshows across 10 cities: We are conducting large-scale roadshows in 10 cities across India, inviting 1,000 to 2,000 advertisers per event. These sessions provide an opportunity to educate advertisers about IPL’s potential, expected ad outcomes, and the targeting solutions available. Advertisers interested in IPL can then engage in one-on-one discussions to find the right assets, targeting strategies, and ad packages that align with their goals. To streamline the process, we are integrating these efforts into our self-serve platform, making it easier for SMBs to onboard onto IPL advertising.

So far, we have successfully conducted events in Ahmedabad and Kochi and will continue expanding to more cities in the lead-up to the IPL.

What’s the minimum ticket size for smaller advertisers to experience an impact on their business?

There is no fixed minimum ticket size for advertising. It largely depends on factors such as the advertiser's goals, desired reach, chosen ad assets, and targeting capabilities. Our primary objective is to make IPL as accessible as possible to a wide range of advertisers.

Besides smaller advertisers and regional language markets, where do you see exponential growth potential to break even?

We are witnessing growth across the market, with greater adoption among our larger advertisers across various categories. Our strategy of offering customised solutions for different marketing objectives is driving this adoption. For instance:

• New product launches benefit from high-impact visibility during the opening weekend, when viewership peaks.

• Brands running sustained campaigns throughout the tournament can leverage solutions to drive clicks to websites or apps.

This tailored approach is helping us unlock stronger adoption across all 40 categories. The next big focus for us is expanding into the SMB segment, and we believe these two factors will be key drivers of growth this year.