It will go down as a ‘historic match’, not just in T20s or World Cups, but India-Pakistan cricket folklore spanning across decades. As Virat Kohli knocked Haris Rauf for two sublime sixes in the 19th over, taking India closer to a thrilling win, Disney+ Hotstar’s live viewership soared to 1.8 crore — a jump from the 1.4 crore the OTT platform had recorded in the India-Pakistan game in Asia Cup earlier this year. By the time Ashwin hit the winning runs off Nawaz, Hotstar concurrents may have dipped slightly to 1.6 crore. (These are analyst estimates, Hotstar is yet to disclose official numbers)
Hotstar is no stranger to cricketing highs, especially during marquee matches such as this in the ongoing T20 World Cup. Given the complete absence of India-Pakistan bilateral cricket over the last few years, ICC tournaments almost always add a fixture between the arch rivals that becomes a high-viewership vehicle. “Tournaments of national interest [like a World Cup], an India-Pakistan game is viewed with a lot of passion. Growth in terms of viewership on digital has been phenomenally high at 15-20 per cent YoY. There is a big opportunity for penetration and driving large eyeballs,” Karan Taurani, SVP, Elara Capital, tells Business Today.
However, this may not be repetitive, he says, given not all games will go down to the last ball and/or feature a Virat Kohli masterclass. However, “the concurrent views might be higher in the final match of the World Cup depending on which team qualifies and at what scale it is,” he says. “India has to obviously qualify for that along with a very competitive team – Pakistan, Australia, England, or New Zealand, which will develop the viewership.”
Advertising money, however, is not just made on concurrent viewership since most brands pre-sign contracts with the OTT platform. Given the influx of T20 matches this year, Hotstar is estimated to have seen a “steady viewership growth” of 15-20 per cent YoY, according to Elara Capital. “This is good news for OTT and digital advertising. And If you look at cricket advertising on digital, there is a potential for 30-40 per cent YoY growth given the sharp eyeballs we are seeing,” Taurani explains.
Cricket in Multiplexes
While Hotstar is making merry in streaming, India’s top multiplex operators PVR and INOX are also experimenting with match screenings. PVR, for instance, showed the India-Pakistan game across 125 screens, while INOX played it in 90+ cinemas, generating ~70 per cent hall occupancy.
While this may not be a sustainable business model for footfall recovery, the short-term benefits cannot be denied. “This is very much in line with what a hit film would do, but this is a one-day wonder, not a one-week wonder. Multiplexes will get minor gains here and there, but it is not a sustainable business model,” Taurani explains.
Short-term gains also factor in “slightly higher ticket prices” for cricket matches compared to that of movies, as well as higher F&B spends. The revenue-sharing model is also similar. “Multiplexes share 50 per cent with the BCCI compared to 50 per cent they would share with distributors for films. But the overall share of properties where cricket matches are shown is just about 20 per cent,” Taurani says, adding, “Multiplexes are doing this as test runs because they know very few matches will attract big audiences [like the India-Pak game did].”
Both PVR and INOX attested to the high turnout for the Sunday game. INOX Leisure CEO Alok Tandon told PTI, “The response that we got for this match across all the 90-plus cinemas has been phenomenal, identical to a blockbuster movie. The electric environment in the auditoriums was much like what someone witnessed in the stadiums.”
PVR shares were up 1.23 per cent up to Rs 1,736.90, while INOX was trading 0.15 per cent higher at Rs 508.40 on the BSE on Tuesday.
