rahul1117kumar
Contributor
- Joined
- 21 Jun 2013
- Messages
- 6,758
- Reaction score
- 14,800
Star India's online video streaming platform Hotstar has amassed a reach (unique viewers to have sampled the app) of 80 million on the ongoing Vivo Indian Premier League (IPL) for all the games played until the play-offs (that till for all the games between April 9 and May 22). This is more than double the reach gained last year for the same number of matches, which was around 35 million according to data provided by Hotstar.
The cash rich twenty-20 tournament came under Star India's digital ambit in 2014 when it was available on starsports.com. Last year with the introduction of Hotstar, viewers could see the tournament on the new app. This is when it got a significant fillip on the digital platform reached 41 million viewers in 2015. The network had expressed ambitions of getting a reach of 100 million on the IPL this year, and seems to be on track to achieve the target.
"We have seen the adoption of Hotstar as a primary screen increase significantly in the urban affluent youth. At 80 million (unique) viewers before the play-offs, I expect the platform to add another 15 to 20 million in reach over the last leg of the tournament," says Ajit Mohan, CEO, Hotstar, Star India.
He adds that the total time spent on the app watching the IPL has gone up 60 per cent over 2015 and 275 per cent over 2014. Total time spent or watch time is the sum total of the time spent by all the viewers accessing the IPL through Hotstar.
The key to increasing the reach Mohan feels lies in the data rich experience Hotstar provides with ease in streaming on the go. Additionally, the application has added features to the interface while streaming a live match like a real time updated scorecard and analysis before and after the match and between innings.
The significance of the data lies in the fact that a lot of the urban affluent youth can now be targeted via IPL on Hotstar. "While the numbers are good and we are happy about the growth in reach, what is really important is the profile of the audience we are able to capture. There is an audience out there, which is accessing the IPL exclusively through Hotstar. These are usually young people in the metros with smartphones and access to wifi/broadband which the advertisers also want to reach out and market their brand to. Hotstar is now a good option to reach this audience efficiently," Mohan says.
The marketing team at Star has made concerted efforts since its launch, targeting the youth in its communication regarding the IPL. In 2014, when Star India took the IPL on its digital platform for the first time, the communication focussed on the youth with the Kanna Keep Calm, driving viewership on starsports.com. In 2015, a similar youth centric campaign took the tagline Bahut Far, which highlighted the advantages of watching IPL on Hotstar beyond mobility. This year too, the campaign features and targets the younger audience and reiterates that Hotstar is synonymous with digital viewing of IPL.
The marketing campaigns seem to have hit the mark as the bulk of viewership on the IPL - almost 80 per cent of the total viewers, are below 34 years. Additionally, 50 per cent of the total viewers are in the age range of 15 to 24 years.
The app's performance with IPL last year and the traction it got on the T-20 World Cup earlier this year meant that advertisers were more confident of putting their money on Hotstar. "For advertisers looking for scale on digital, Hotstar is a logical option. Even in case movies and drama, the app has high watch time and reach," Mohan says. This year, the IPL on Hotstar has four sponsors for the Vivo Indian Premier League (IPL) including Flipkart, Raymond, Axe Deos and Volini. Other advertisers on the platform for IPL include Lloyd, Hindware, Hero Fincorp, Airtel, and Amazon.
IPL viewership on Hotstar doubles in 2016 - Business Standard
The cash rich twenty-20 tournament came under Star India's digital ambit in 2014 when it was available on starsports.com. Last year with the introduction of Hotstar, viewers could see the tournament on the new app. This is when it got a significant fillip on the digital platform reached 41 million viewers in 2015. The network had expressed ambitions of getting a reach of 100 million on the IPL this year, and seems to be on track to achieve the target.
"We have seen the adoption of Hotstar as a primary screen increase significantly in the urban affluent youth. At 80 million (unique) viewers before the play-offs, I expect the platform to add another 15 to 20 million in reach over the last leg of the tournament," says Ajit Mohan, CEO, Hotstar, Star India.
He adds that the total time spent on the app watching the IPL has gone up 60 per cent over 2015 and 275 per cent over 2014. Total time spent or watch time is the sum total of the time spent by all the viewers accessing the IPL through Hotstar.
The key to increasing the reach Mohan feels lies in the data rich experience Hotstar provides with ease in streaming on the go. Additionally, the application has added features to the interface while streaming a live match like a real time updated scorecard and analysis before and after the match and between innings.
The significance of the data lies in the fact that a lot of the urban affluent youth can now be targeted via IPL on Hotstar. "While the numbers are good and we are happy about the growth in reach, what is really important is the profile of the audience we are able to capture. There is an audience out there, which is accessing the IPL exclusively through Hotstar. These are usually young people in the metros with smartphones and access to wifi/broadband which the advertisers also want to reach out and market their brand to. Hotstar is now a good option to reach this audience efficiently," Mohan says.
The marketing team at Star has made concerted efforts since its launch, targeting the youth in its communication regarding the IPL. In 2014, when Star India took the IPL on its digital platform for the first time, the communication focussed on the youth with the Kanna Keep Calm, driving viewership on starsports.com. In 2015, a similar youth centric campaign took the tagline Bahut Far, which highlighted the advantages of watching IPL on Hotstar beyond mobility. This year too, the campaign features and targets the younger audience and reiterates that Hotstar is synonymous with digital viewing of IPL.
The marketing campaigns seem to have hit the mark as the bulk of viewership on the IPL - almost 80 per cent of the total viewers, are below 34 years. Additionally, 50 per cent of the total viewers are in the age range of 15 to 24 years.
The app's performance with IPL last year and the traction it got on the T-20 World Cup earlier this year meant that advertisers were more confident of putting their money on Hotstar. "For advertisers looking for scale on digital, Hotstar is a logical option. Even in case movies and drama, the app has high watch time and reach," Mohan says. This year, the IPL on Hotstar has four sponsors for the Vivo Indian Premier League (IPL) including Flipkart, Raymond, Axe Deos and Volini. Other advertisers on the platform for IPL include Lloyd, Hindware, Hero Fincorp, Airtel, and Amazon.
IPL viewership on Hotstar doubles in 2016 - Business Standard
