IPL 2016 makes Sony Max second most-watched channel

The official broadcaster of the IPL, Sony Max, became the second most-watched television channel after Sun TV and has garnered a viewership of 946 million, according to a data released by BARC (Broadcast Audience Research Council) India.

The channel recorded this viewership during the first week of the ninth edition of the tournament, between April 9 and April 15, which had 25% more viewers than the Hindi entertainment channel Star Plus. The IPL alone has garnered 145.7 million impressions.

The match between Royal Challengers Bangalore and Sunrisers Hyderabad on April 12 was the most-watched match which earned 24.1 million views. The average impression for the seven matches played during prime-time was 20.82 million.

The second most watched was the opening game between Mumbai Indians and Rising Pune Supergiants , which grossed 24.12 million impressions. With its soaring reach, Sony Max was the most preferred channel to watch IPL matches, followed by Sony Six and Sony ESPN.

Rohit Gupta, president of network sales at Sony Pictures Network told Livemint.com that this was a positive start for the channel. “The numbers are very encouraging. The reach of IPL has grown substantially to over 218 million individuals this season. IPL grows week-on-week. It is a very good start and has aligned with the trends of the past,” he said. Sony runs a number of sports and entertainment channels in India.

BARC’s inclusion of the rural population under their viewership measurement system, which might be the prime reason for the surging numbers. "The reach has seen a massive increase and this proves that rural India is also watching the IPL. Last year's cumulative reach was just shy of 200 million, so you can see the growth.

"The ratings (viewership) continue to be steady and strong, though we can't compare it to last year (because the measurement universe was different). At an all-India level and in the urban territories too, the tournament is holding strong," Rohit added.

Tarun Nigam, executive vice-president at the advertising agency DDB Mudra told Livemint.com that these ratings will become constant at some point. “IPL has created a lot of hype, but these initial ratings should not be considered as a benchmark for the overall IPL ratings. Somewhere in the times to come, the ratings will stabilize.

"Initially, the sponsors were a little cautious because of all the controversies associated (with the league) but with this kind of ratings, they are happy."

According to the IPL website, the official broadcasters for IPL matches are Sony Max and Sony Six, which delivers commentary in Hindi. Sony Max included commentary in Tamil, Telugu and Bengali for this flagship event and the English feed was made available on Sony ESPN.