IPL 6 TV ratings expected to rise: study

Media buying and planning agency MEC announced the findings of their IPL TV Rating Estimation Study today, and it says that average TV rating for the league stage is expected to go up from 3.8 last year to 3.9. Here are the key findings of the study: - This is an increase of 2.6% (15+ years, Male/Female, SEC ABC), with  Mumbai Indians (4.5), Kolkata Knight Riders (4.2) and Chennai Super Kings (4.1) matches to have the highest ratings. - Home team (84%), favorite team (79%) and Indian stars (64%) continue to be deciding factors to watch a match. Time of the match (49%) is also gaining importance. [caption id=“attachment_671496” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  Chennai is one of the most popular teams. AFP[/caption] - MI (23%), Chennai (19%) and KKR (14%) are the most popular teams. Support for Hyderabad has gone up by 200% (2% to 6%), Bangalore has dropped by 50% (12% to 8%). - Sachin Tendulkar (80), MS Dhoni (79), Yuvraj Singh (76), Virat Kohli (74) and Virender Sehwag (73) are the most popular Indian players in the League. - Chris Gayle (60), Ricky Ponting (55), Brett Lee (51) and Kevin Pietersen (50) are most popular foreign players The study is a combination of primary research and high-end analytics — achieving 100% accuracy in the past, including last year. The research was conducted in Mumbai, New Delhi, Kolkata, Chennai, Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Jaipur, Pune, Chandigarh and Ahmedabad. T Gangadhar, Managing Director, MEC India said: “Our study suggests that IPL seems to have matured as a property. The study clearly establishes that ratings in the first phase (first 18 games) impact the fate of the entire league. We expect the IPL Fantasy League to become a key part of the live broadcast experience and as a result, social chatter around IPL could grow significantly.”