The India vs West Indies T20 matches saw 121 million viewers tuned in to watch the live telecasts on 27th and 29th August - almost as massive as the IPL viewership this year. The preceding test matches in the same series garnered a big viewership of 70 million viewers, despite popular knowledge that test cricket has taken a back seat with the game’s gradual evolution to more fast-paced formats. Interestingly, a large portion of these viewers have also watched previous cricket tournaments. Do these viewers make up an audience loyal to cricket, regardless of the format in which the game is played?
The first match in the test series received the highest viewership with 22 million viewers tuned in to watch the live telecast on 21st July.
97 million viewers watched the first T20 match played on 27th August. The telecast experienced a peak in viewership between 10 PM and 11 PM as the Indian team forfeited a win by just a single run.
Out of the individuals who watched the India vs West Indies matches, 86% of them had watched the T20 World Cup, and 83% had also watched the IPL matches this year. While T20 matches generally have higher viewership, the India vs Zimbabwe tour which consisted of three ODI matches also garnered significant viewership.
The same viewers also followed different kinds of sports on television: 61.8% of individuals who watched the India vs West Indies series had watched the recent Rio 2016 Olympics. 37.1% of them had watched the Pro Kabaddi League and 15.2% watched the famous football tournament UEFA Euro 2016.
In addition to a general interest for sports content, audiences who are format-neutral and loyal to a particular sport are highly valuable. These individuals are most likely to have high affinity towards sport stars and sports brands associated with that particular kind of sport, making it very conducive for brands to effectively engage with them. Through ZAPR’s user mapping technology, brands can identify these audiences and engage with them on their mobile devices in real-time as an when they are watching their favourite sport events on TV.
