IPL 2020 is underway; will it be tough to sustain high viewership numbers?

The opening weekend of this year's Indian Premier League (IPL) witnessed a riveting tie – and a Super Over was needed to decide the outcome. Matches like these are what have made the annual cricket jamboree a television spectacle and for viewers deprived of live cricket comprising their favourite players, the IPL provides them an opportunity to forget the pall of gloom brought by the coronavirus pandemic.

The players, who are taking to the field after more than six months, may have looked rusty but visuals of the thwack of the bat and ball rattling the stumps were lapped up by the viewers.

But will the long duration of the tournament and the clash with popular reality TV show Bigg Boss affect the ratings?

Lloyd Mathias, business strategist and angel investor, feels the tournament's charm will remain intact.

"There's been a long gap of live cricket and IPL will benefit from that. Overall, as far as competing with other programmes like Bigg Boss is concerned, there will be healthy competition but I don't think it will have a major impact on IPL's ratings. During the absence of live cricket action, the news channels saw a surge in ratings, but that phase is coming to a close. With cinema theatres closed and families not going out to eat at restaurants, IPL presents a big opportunity for advertisers and viewership," he told Moneycontrol.

He also feels that there may be a bit of a lull in ratings in a tournament of this duration during the middle but that is factored in by the channel and advertisers.

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Mathias also said that doesn't see people flocking to theatres even if cinema halls are allowed to reopen in a graded manner and that will help IPL maintain its hold over the ratings.

"I don't see people running back to theatres. The threat of COVID-19 is still looming large and I believe viewership will continue to grow at a steady pace all the way till the final in November," he said.

Sandeep Goyal, Chairman, Mogae Media, too believes that the property won't witness a dip in ratings.

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"Most households are single-TV homes and the tournament has a big fan following among female viewers. Cricket is now a family genre. People will split screens in between when Bigg Boss telecast will start. So, in that case, the repeat telecast of Bigg Boss may go up. As people are at home and there are no distractions, IPL will benefit from that as watching TV is the default option," he said.

Goyal, however, believes that the viewership on Star’s digital platform Hotstar may be hit as IPL matches have been put behind a paywall.

"If they would have kept it free, Hotstar could have seen 40-50 million viewers. As per my estimates, by the end of the tournament, they should see 25-30 million viewers," he added.