In cricket-crazy India, the much-awaited blockbuster media rights auction of the massively popular Indian Premier League (IPL) this month ended with the emerging winners of Disney Star and Viacom18 winning the license to broadcast matches for the next five seasons. have done.
While Disney Star was given the television rights for Rs 23,575 crore, the digital rights for the Indian subcontinent was bagged by the Viacom18-led alliance for Rs 23,758 crore. Viacom18 and Times Internet Limited split the rest of the world rights for a total of Rs 1,057 crore.
With these figures, IPL It is currently second only to the NFL in terms of per-match value and for the first time ever, a cricket league will be broadcast by various players on television and digital platforms.
It is also worth mentioning that the total contracts for the 2023-27 cycle is 2.96 times or 196% higher than the previous IPL rights deal (2018-22), which stood at Rs 16,347.5 crore.
tech change
There is no doubt that technology continues to transform businesses across all industries and is profoundly changing both the customer experience and the inner workings of firms. The sports business, in particular, is undergoing rapid change, with digital technology uncovering previously unimaginable growth prospects.
To fully harness such potential, fans’ lives are being shaped by technology more than ever before, allowing sports organizations to deliver new, inventive consumer experiences.
Nilesh Kulkarni, a former Indian cricketer and founder-director of the International Institute Play Management (IISM) believes that the COVID-19 pandemic has had a significant impact on digitization and companies have become so innovative with people at home that they have been able to give consumers an immersive experience as if they are sitting in a stadium. They were hooting for their favorite team. ,
“In the sports industry, digital technology is a platform of opportunities never known for growth. The sports fraternity is embracing everything that is digital – merchandising, gaming, esports, etc.,” he said.
Additionally, Kulkarni stated that “So far, from what I’ve read and researched, I think the next big digital transformation in the game world is the metaverse. So we should be prepared for that.”
According to experts, the popularity of smartphones and tablets may have contributed to the decline in live game attendance as more people switch to live streams, and it has also reduced reliance on television channels.
In today’s times, especially the shift towards digital streaming and its increasing popularity India This is something that can no longer be ignored, observers say.
Shashank Mishra, CEO, SportsApp told News18, “With increasing digital adaptation in India, sports consumption is shifting from television/radio to live-streaming solutions.”
Explaining the changing scenario, he said that sports fans have been using various platforms for live sports streaming for the past three years, and according to him, if this consumption is taken seriously with passion and convenience, it can both It’s a win-win situation. broadcasters and viewers.
Mishra also highlighted that when TV penetration is compared with mobile penetration in both rural and urban areas, the data clearly shows that digital streaming will be at the forefront of acquisition and testing.
“Digital streaming for cricket has been breaking records with concurrent viewers over the years but if we take a look beyond cricket there has been a huge boom in digital streaming in recent times. For example, the Tokyo Olympics and its viewership have opened up an ancient opportunity for marketers to reach out to many untapped markets and regions,” he said.
Kaushik Komandur, working as AVP with OnMobile Global Ltd., said: “If any proof was needed that the future of watching live cricket is moving towards digital platforms, it would be the bid for media rights for the next five seasons. Came during. of IPL, from 2023 to 2027.”
The previous cycle lasted five years and consisted of 60 matches per season. The IPL has announced a varying amount of matches per season for the upcoming five-year cycle, which includes 74 matches in 2023 and 2024, 84 matches in 2025 and 2026, and a maximum of 94 matches in 2027. More matches mean good news. Indian cricket fan.
Sanjana Nischal, CMO of Digital Kong, an independent digital marketing agency, told News18: “From going to stadiums and enjoying matches with friends to planning live screenings of IPL matches, audience styles in India have changed over time. Has been. few years. With 54% internet penetration and the second highest online audience in the world, India has over 700 million mobile internet users. People of all age groups are consuming content online and the use of AI, IoT and Big Data Analysis in cricket has greatly improved the experience of the viewers as well as the players.”
Another industry insider, Voiro founder and CEO Kavita Shenoy, said that the valuation of digital rights is higher than broadcast rights in the IPL bidding and it follows the last five-year auction, which did not even auction the digital rights separately. but was bundled with the TV.
Shenoy said, “Streaming is undoubtedly the future of live sports in India, largely due to its ability to reach a greater audience than television.”
Echoing this, Manoj Davane, Founder and CEO, VTON said that the average viewership for IPL is over 30 minutes, which makes it ideal for digital streaming. Interactivity, such as polls, quizzes and contests, is also abundant in digital viewing.
He also noted that there is a trend of new users downloading the app during sporting events like IPL, with a good percentage of people remaining on the app.
“So, I believe sports is the trigger that makes people download and then during the event (like 2 months of IPL), users find other content on OTT apps as well and start consuming it. are,” Dawney said.
what do the numbers say
Last year, the 2021 Sports Video Trends report by London-based Grabio, along with 2019 findings, showed that 53% of global sports enthusiasts who pay for video services will move entirely to streaming by 2024.
It was also found that 45% of fans will only pay for streaming services in 2021. However, by 2026, the pay-TV market will have only 28% of global sports enthusiasts as customers.
According to data from Grabio, broadcast TV subscriptions among sports fans worldwide have decreased by 9% since 2019, but Internet streaming subscriptions have increased by 41%.
In the case of India, 94% of fans want to convert exclusively to streaming, 37% are willing to pay up to Rs 499 per month for a streaming platform that includes sports and 21% are willing to pay up to Rs 749 per month are willing to.
However, according to data from Broadcast Audience Research Council (India), Sony Liv (India), MediaLogic (Pakistan), B-Sports (Pakistan), LMRB (Sri Lanka), YouTube and Facebook (Global), live matches were more watched. More than 250 million fans worldwide.
Raman Raheja, co-founder and CEO of Legends League Cricket, a global league in which former cricketers are playing competitive games, quoted BARC figures as saying: “The average rating for the league is higher than that of any other T20 International. is almost 300% higher in comparison. League. There are over 140 million viewers watching us on TV in India, Pakistan and Sri Lanka, in addition to 50 million in other parts of the world. Our digital viewership on the streaming platforms of Sony LIV (India), B-Sports (Pakistan) and CricTracker (rest of the world) has crossed 60 million.
Sharing his perspective on the change, Komandur told News18: “While television will retain its inherent allure for a variety of reasons, not least because of its traditional glory in this spectrum, the fast-paced world of perpetual motion and the fact that That there is greater penetration of digital platforms, the audience pattern is sure to change in the near future. It is pertinent to consider some numbers to verify this notion.”
As of now, the largest broadcast group by ad revenue was Disney+ Hotstar of video streaming platform Star India and the group earned an estimated $120 million as video ad revenue last year, according to industry expert.
He said that India’s online advertising+subscription revenue is $1.92 billion, of which online advertising revenue is $1.2 billion. Citing the Omdia report, the industry insider also highlighted the fact that the analysis firm has predicted that the total online advertising market will generate revenue of $2.4 billion by 2025.
Komandur also said that in the age group of 18-29 years, a significant proportion, 27%, prefer streaming services. So according to him, “It is inevitable, given how fast streaming platforms are making deep inroads into sports markets, that live sports will also monopolize the medium.”
Tushar Kumar, Head of Branded Content Practice at OML, believes that digital streaming enables innovation and can open up a plethora of new channels to engage fans. He told News18 that customers expect more from their live sports viewing experience and digital streaming can address this through premium ad-free experiences, fan interactions through NFT-based communities, and other means.
“The next generation of sports fans at Genz is born in the digital age and is embracing sports beyond cricket like football. Shifting such games to streaming only makes sense keeping the future audience in mind,” he said.
However, according to Voiro CEO, “What media companies and OTT platforms will now have to deal with is how to change the mindset in the TV world from selling to digital selling. Paying a premium for digital rights Having done that, the next big question is how to monetize them.”
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