Live streaming of sports especially Cricket on OTT platforms has brought a revolution in terms of advertising. Known for its mass connect, Cricket matches used to be big brands’ battlegrounds but not anymore.
With OTTs like Hotstar and now JioCinema offering advertising opportunities at a scalable budget, over the last few years, several start-ups and SMBs have debuted their sports advertising campaigns.
IPL being the king of the Cricket series has a special place and hence, advertisers expect something new every year to take their advertising experience to the next level. And this year with JioCinema already having hit it out of the park with its FIFA World Cup coverage that saw 5X growth in viewership, there’s no room for doubt that the 2023 edition of IPL is going to break all viewership records.
In this article, we will take you through the highlights of digital streaming and advertising of IPL 2023 on JioCinema and discuss how they will be helpful to viewers and brands. Following is a snapshot of the 7 new features that we would discuss in detail:
| New targeting option | Who would it benefit |
| Connected TV | Brands targeting premium audience |
| Match highlights | Brands looking for presence beyond the IPL matches |
| Geo-targeting | Local/regional brands |
| Premium Device Targeting | Brands targeting premium audience |
| Non-premium devices (value<15K) | Brands targeting aspiring audience |
| Youth-targeting | Brands targeting a young audience |
1. The Living Room Experience
The market for connected TV sets in India has been growing rapidly in recent years, driven by factors such as increasing affordability, improved broadband connectivity, and the growing popularity of streaming services. According to some industry reports, the market for smart TVs in India is expected to continue to grow, with increasing demand for larger screen sizes and higher resolutions.
It’s also worth noting that the COVID-19 pandemic has accelerated the trend toward online entertainment and increased the number of people using connected TV sets in India.
Like the last few years, JioCinema has also come up with exciting advertising plans for connected TV users during IPL live matches. Keep reading to know how brands can benefit from this.
Why Advertise To The Connected TV Users?
According to the latest Kantar ICUBE report, there were 28 million connected TVs in India in the past year. The phenomenon of “CTV,” or co-viewing where families come together to watch content on the big screen, was reported to have 83 million individuals participating. This number is expected to grow even further when IPL (Indian Premier League) becomes available for free streaming on connected TVs, potentially attracting over 100 million viewers to watch content on their connected TVs.
Not only this, Jio is planning to launch something called ‘Jio Media Cable’ which is poised to significantly increase the adoption of connected TVs. This device would allow people without smart TVs or DTH connections to turn their regular TVs into smart TVs by connecting their phones. This would lead to an increase in the number of connected TV. Also for the first time, Jio has got permission to live stream the matches in 4k resolution which is better than what television HD channels can offer.
Following are some of the reasons to advertise to connected TV users:
1. Reaching out to the Digital Sophisticates
In The Media & Entertainment Report by KPMG 2020, the Internet users of India were divided into groups based on their evolution in the digital usage journey. The top of this pyramid is occupied by Digital Sophisticates who (in 2020) accounted for only 3% of online users.
Their primary mode of digital consumption is Smart Connected TVs and mobile. These are the users who mostly consume Global content and original programs often behind a paywall (subscription-based). Some of the behavior that is typical to a digital sophisticate are:
- Top income bracket
- Multiple digital audio and video subscriptions with most financial transactions online
- High barrier to entry
2. Reaching out to an entire household
The viewership behavior in Connected TVs is similar to linear TV hence exposing an entire family to the ads hence, lowering the impression costs.
3. Guaranteed viewership
This year JioCinema is offering spot buys for CTV advertising which means brands can buy ad spots in multiples of 10-sec and advertisements would be broadcasted at the same time across all connected TVs. This would also mean that brands would be able to record/watch their ads and be assured of their deliverability.
How Will Advertising To CTV Owners Benefit The Advertisers?
As discussed in the section above, connected TV users fall under the top income bracket and mostly depend on subscription-based digital services for entertainment, a reason why they might be difficult to be accessed through linear television advertising.
Hence, brands offering luxury and high-ticket items like real estate, automobiles, jewelry, gadgets, investment opportunities, D2C etc, can target this set of audiences. Also, in absence of pre-roll video ads and branded cards, advertising on connected TV would be uncluttered.
How Much Would It Cost To Target Connected TV Users?
Unlike the mobile app, Connected TV wouldn’t have pre-roll, mid-roll, and branded card advertising options. Until last year, a usual 10-sec mid-roll video ad on the streaming platform was charged on a CPM basis. This year, IPL video ads would be charged on a spot buy basis. Spot buy refers to an ad delivery type in which the entire audience watching the match during a particular window (which would be equal to the ad duration) would see the ad.
| Video Length | Spot Buy Rate |
| 10-sec | INR 6,50,000 |
2. Owning the highlights space
Not only live matches but highlights are also very popular during the IPL season. In 2021, close to 120 million viewers watched the match highlights, ~90% within 12 hours of the live match.
Why should brands advertise in match highlights in IPL 2023 on JioCinema?
Over the last few years, match highlights on digital platforms have gained popularity. With a number of audiences working late, cricket fans who would want to rewatch their favorite moments would rely on the highlights to stay updated. Brands can include IPL 2023 highlights in their plan in addition to the live match as it would give them an opportunity to extend their presence beyond the match hours.
How much would it cost to target IPL match highlight viewers?
Only mid-roll video advertising is allowed in the highlights. The highlight mid-roll ads cost lesser than the mid-roll ads in the live match- INR 150 for a 10-sec video. The rates would vary according to the video length and targeting as follows:
| Video Length | CPM Without targeting | CPM With targeting (1 level) |
| 10-sec | INR 150 | INR 175 |
3. Geography/audience targeting gets better
Following is a list of geo-targeting possible this year.
| Region | States/Cities Covered |
| Top 6 metros | Mumbai, Delhi, Chennai, Kolkata, Bangalore & Hyderabad |
| Top 10 metros | Mumbai, Delhi, Bengaluru, Kolkata, Chennai, Hyderabad, Pune, Ahmedabad, Kochi, Lucknow |
| 1 Mn+ Town | Pune, Ahemedabad, Jaipur, Patna, Indore, Bhopal, Lucknow, Ludhiana, Ernakulam, Ranchi, Surat, Chandigarh, Kanpur |
| Hindi Speaking States | Pan India minus the Southern States |
| Southern States | Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Karnataka, Kerala |
| West India | Maharashtra & Gujarat |
| East India | West Bengal, Assam, Odisha, Bihar, Jharkhand, & North Eastern states |
| Individual | Andhra Pradesh + Telangana |
| Individual | Tamil Nadu |
Not only geography targeting options but device and audience targeting are also possible.
- Tamil Feed
- Telugu Feed
- Kannada Feed
Why should brands be excited about new geography/language targeting options?
Introduction of geography and language targeting options is a very good news for local/regional brands who would like to reach out to audience based in their target market without much spillage.
How much would it cost to target certain geographies?
The option to target certain geographies is available for all three types of IPL 2023 ad formats: pre-roll video ads, mid-roll video ads, and branded cards. Since there is only one targeting option allowed for mid-roll video ads, this is the only one available. However, in the case of pre-roll video ads and branded cards, one more targeting option is allowed. Following is a table to understand the rate changes for IPL 2023 ads targeted to non-premium handsets:
| IPL 2023 Ad Type | CPM with geo- targeting only | CPM with one additional targeting |
| 10-sec Mid-roll Video Ad | INR 280 | NA |
| 20-sec Mid-roll Video Ad | INR 560 | NA |
| 30-sec Mid-roll Video Ad | INR 837 | NA |
| Pre-roll Video Ad | INR 350 | INR 450 |
| Branded Cards | INR 125 | INR 187 |
4. Targeting small & medium businesses
For the first time in the history of IPL advertising on Hotstar, the option to target small and medium businesses has been introduced. Using this targeting option, brands would be able to reach out to users who have business apps (apps used by small businesses like Khatabook, PayTM Business app etc).
Which brands would be interested in targeting small & medium businesses?
This targeting option would be very beneficial to B2B brands. While IPL advertising has always been considered as an effective platform for B2C advertising, SMB targeting option has provided a good opportunity for B2B brands.
How much would it cost to target certain geographies?
The option to target certain geographies is available for all three types of IPL 2023 ad formats: pre-roll video ads, mid-roll video ads, and branded cards. Since there is only one targeting option allowed for mid-roll video ads, this is the only one available. However, in the case of pre-roll video ads and branded cards, one more targeting option is allowed. Following is a table to understand the rate changes for IPL 2023 ads targeted to non-premium handsets:
| IPL 2023 Ad Type | CPM with geo- targeting only | CPM with one additional targeting |
| 10-sec Mid-roll Video Ad | INR 280 | NA |
| 20-sec Mid-roll Video Ad | INR 560 | NA |
| 30-sec Mid-roll Video Ad | INR 837 | NA |
| Pre-roll Video Ad | INR 350 | INR 450 |
| Branded Cards | INR 125 | INR 187 |
5. Targeting non-premium handsets (value below INR 15k)
Earlier, IPL advertising on Hotstar only had the option to target premium devices (a combination of premium devices as well as connected TV) but this year, there is a new targeting cohort- users with handset value of less than INR 15,000.
Why should advertisers target non-premium handset owners?
Brands offering products that appeals to the masses can go for this targeting option like mobile brands, banks and insurance, FMCG products, education etc.
How much would it cost to target non-premium handsets?
The option to target non-premium handsets is available for all three types of IPL 2023 ad formats: pre-roll video ads, mid-roll video ads, and branded cards. Since there is only one targeting option allowed for mid-roll video ads, this is the only one available. However, in the case of pre-roll video ads and branded cards, one more targeting option is allowed. Following is a table to understand the rate changes for IPL 2023 ads targeted to non-premium handsets:
| IPL 2023 Ad Type | CPM with non-premium devices targeting only | CPM with one additional targeting |
| 10-sec Mid-roll Video Ad | INR 280 | NA |
| 20-sec Mid-roll Video Ad | INR 560 | NA |
| 30-sec Mid-roll Video Ad | INR 837 | NA |
| Pre-roll Video Ad | INR 350 | INR 450 |
| Branded Cards | INR 125 | INR 187 |
Would like to know more about IPL advertising on Hotstar? Checkout the following links:
- IPL Advertising: All you wanted to know about IPL sponsorship and advertising
- IPL 2020 Hotstar Advertising Budget Calculator
- For a complete guide to IPL 2021 advertising on Hotstar
- To know IPL 2021 advertising rates and booking a campaign
Have questions about IPL 2023 advertising on Hotstar? Write to us at Help@TheMediaAnt.com.
