NatWest final gives ESPN STAR highest ever TVRs

Most of us surely recall the sensational final match of the NatWest series between India and England at the Lord's cricket ground, where the euphoric Indian captain Saurav Ganguly took off his T-Shirt and flung it in the crowd and jumped on Mohammed Kaif in sheer excitement.

It's the same feeling among the ESPN folk today. The exclusive telecast of the NatWest series finals on July 13 registered an unmatched viewership with ratings touching a record high of 19.31 TVR for all C&S homes in the 4-plus age group (source TAM Media Research).

In fact, the final hour of the NatWest finals on ESPN created a record of sorts by becoming the most watched television programme this year across all channels. The average TVR stood at 14.7 for all C&S homes in the 4 years-plus age group.

A look at the viewership break up definitely has some good news for advertisers. Among males in the 15-plus age group in SEC ABC homes across India - the target group for media buyers on sports channels - the programme registered a record TVR of 22.16, the highest ever for any sports broadcast across C&S homes for the last two years!

Talking about the event, Manu Sawhney, managing director, ESPN Software India, says, "I believe a combination of India playing one-day cricket, the exclusive nature of the telecast, and ESPN STAR Sports being among the highest penetrated encrypted channels across India helped us deliver the record ratings."

The figures support his point. Over 23.6 million people across all C&S homes tuned in to watch the amazing Indian victory. The TAM statistics also show over 42 per cent of all males in the 15 years plus category in SEC ABC homes had tuned in to watch the unbelievable performance of the Indian turks.

"The average spot rating during the Indian batting session in the NatWest finals recorded a TVR of 13.4 offering tremendous value to advertisers and sponsors like Pepsi, LG, Samsung, TVS, Sahara India and Hindustan Lever," remarks an observer. © 2002 agencyfaqs!