ICL c. advertisers b. distribution 1.2 (TVR)

A stadium in the heart of Haryana (surely no match for the Stadium of Light), filled to capacity (which is a humble 6,000) largely thanks to the presence of some Bollywood biggies, a few international stars, all the hype and hoopla that preceded the tournament and, of course, the interesting Twenty20 format. The Zee promoted ICL is fighting Round 1 with a few international players (on the verge of retirement) and a battalion of newbies (mostly domestic players).

The real test for the tournament is in whether it will be accepted by the public at large. agencyfaqs! looks at the first set of numbers to see in which direction the tournament is heading.

Zee Sports, which featured the entire match, unlike the other 13 which broadcast only the first half hour, could garner a TVR of just 0.32, a rating that matched the ratings for a domestic match. (TAM ratings, CS 15+, all-India)

“The ratings were a big disappointment, especially considering the combined ratings for the entire network. The decision to simulcast the matches across the Zee Network didn’t reap much gains for the channel,” says Mona Jain, executive vice-president, ZenithOptimedia.

The ratings for the ensuing matches did not improve; the next two matches, Chennai vs Kolkata and Hyderabad vs MCH, managed TVRs of 0.09 and 0.22, respectively.

Experts cite various reasons for the poor ratings, which translated further into grounded TV ad rates. “One of the biggest reasons why the tournament couldn’t start off well was its timing. It’s quite illogical to place such a new format against a high-profile India-Pakistan series. Even though the ICL matches were slated for late in the evening, but still, the hype surrounding the Indo-Pak series was enough to kill whatever excitement was there for ICL,” says Divya Radhakrishnan, vice-president, TME.

Among the other reasons cited was the poor distribution of Zee Sports, the only channel on which the entire match was showcased, which couldn’t be replaced by a simulcast on the entire network. “It was a good strategy to telecast matches across the network, but such a strategy can get the crowds once; it can’t sustain them unless there is some genuine entertainment,” says Jain.

That’s probably why Zee Sports’ sister channels couldn’t manage gravity defying numbers in the first few matches. While Zee Sports managed only 0.32 TVR, Zee 24 Taas, Zee Bangla, Zee Business, Zee Cafe, Zee Gujarati, Zee Kannada, Zee Marathi, Zee Music, Zee News, Zee Punjabi, Zee Smile, Zee Telugu and Zee TV could all manage TVRs of less than 1, which resulted in the combined TVR of 1.2 for the Chandigarh vs Delhi match.

“One never expected the others channels to make up for Zee Sports’ poor distribution, so it’s not much of a shock as only the first half an hour was shown on the other channels, which can never result in big numbers,” says Jain.

Experts believe Zee would have been better off sharing the feed with Ten Sports, which has a far better reach. Despite the low TV ad rates, some media planners didn’t see the tournament as a major event in their sports calendar. “The rate for the ICL matches has nosedived to as low as Rs 3,000-Rs 4,000 per 10 seconds, but even at these rates, it’s not attracting many advertisers. The rates would have been much higher if the matches had been telecast on Ten Sports,” says a senior media expert.

Havell’s, Bisleri and Foster’s are some of the major advertisers which have already backed out of the tournament, citing low penetration of the channel and low interest levels.

Experts are not exactly enthusiastic, but they are hopeful that the big names will still save the day for the ICL, provided they perform out of their skin. “ICC’s Twenty20 reached another level after Yuvraj hit six sixes in an over. Such feats can increase the interest level. The ICL has stars such as Brian Lara, Chris Cairns and Andrew Hall around, so one can’t ignore the tournament,” says Radhakrishnan.