Sports viewership has significant headroom for growth in India: Shashi Sinha
Live sports presents a unique opportunity for concurrent viewing and social engagement, which can significantly contribute to CTV's growth, but lack of a standardised audience measurement poses challenges, said Shashi Sinha, CEO of IPG Mediabrands India, at the e4m Connected TV conference held in Mumbai on Thursday. Speaking on the topic "Live Sports Leading the Streaming Arena: Strategies for Effective Marketing on CTV”, Sinha said, “While CTV offers the flexibility of asynchronous viewing, live sports present a unique opportunity for concurrent viewing and social engagement, which can significantly contribute to CTV's growth. However, the lack of standardized audience measurement poses challenges.”
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He further noted that CTV measurements will be available in 6-7 months. Notably, BARC, headed by Sinha, recently started the measurement process for the CTV segment.
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“Connected TV offers the advantage of asynchrony, allowing viewers to watch content at their convenience and explore a wide range of options. However, this flexibility presents challenges in measurement due to fragmentation and narrowness, making it difficult to capture accurate data,” Sinha said at the CTV conference. Currently, most homes in India have both traditional linear TV and connected TV setups, with only a small percentage exclusively using connected TV. This makes it challenging to precisely target the audience, as there's no clear audience definition. Advertisers often struggle with segmentation, leading to a lack of clarity for brands and clients, he argued. Sinha also pointed out that many individuals are engaging with what traditional television labels as niche sports, such as EPL, Formula 1, or tennis. However, our current audience measurement methods often overlook these niche sports. “Given my involvement in audience measurement through the Chair of BARC, I've noticed a flaw in this approach. Due to inadequate measurement, these niche sports aren't receiving the recognition they deserve,” Sinha stated. “When comparing the viewership of sports in India to that in developed markets, you'll notice a significant difference in audience share. Despite the hype surrounding events like the IPL, sports viewership in India accounts for only about 7-8% of total viewership or maybe less. Globally, it is much more”, he shared. According to Sinha, sports serves as an equalizer, transcending economic disparities. Whether in affluent households or humble ones, the thrill of live sports captivates people universally. Therefore, live sports will persistently drive growth, continuously circling back to ensure its impact. “In India, sports viewership still has significant headroom for growth compared to developed markets, presenting opportunities for advertisers seeking elusive audiences. Comscore's efforts to establish a premium panel for CTV measurement, focusing on household-level data, will provide advertisers with more reliable insights, potentially boosting the entire premium audience business.”
Tags : E4M Connected Tv Conference Shashi Sinha Ctv Sports Viewership