MUMBAI: It is a coup of sorts. Star India's channel which recently became free to air with sports content has not only come up trumps in the Top 5 sports channels' list but is leading the pack.
Star Sports First has managed to pocket as much as 148506 Impressions (000s) sum in BARC India week 30 beating the second best channel by around 14000 Impressions.
Star Sports First in its first week has gathered the viewership from Pro Kabaddi League (PKL) season 5 which has helped it to reach to numero uno position in sports genre.
The opening day of Season 5 of the tournament has registered a cumulative reach of over 50 million registering a jump of over 59 per cent over the inaugural day of Season 4 of the tournament.
This has been a season of many firsts for Vivo PKL- four new franchises joining the existing eight this season, the geographical representation of the league has garnered reach across 11 states. More than 130+ matches spread across 13 weeks, strengthens Vivo PKL’s status as India’s biggest non-cricketing sports league.
With the introduction of Star Sports First, India’s first free-to-air (FTA) private sports channel, and SS1 Tamil, a first of its kind dedicated regional sports channel in India,Star Sports has allowed for India’s own sport to reach out to the growing number of Kabaddi enthusiasts across the nation.
A number of On-Ground activations have enabled the sport to achieve a deeper penetration even in the remote pockets of the country; contributing to a spike in the number of users consuming Kabaddi. Witnessing impressive growth over the last 4 seasons, Vivo PKL has emerged as a significant benchmark for sports leagues in India.
Star India MD Sanjay Gupta said, “I believe this is the first big year for sports beyond cricket. The spectacular growth in viewership for Kabaddi is testament to this journey. It is heartening to see the response Vivo PKL has evoked from millions of fans across the country, cutting across geographies and demographics and I am overwhelmed by its success and rapid rise.”
The state of Karnataka has contributed significantly with a viewership growth of 137 per cent for Season 5 as compared to Season 4. The average rating for day 1 showed an increase in other key markets as well with Andhra Pradesh and Maharashtra registering a growth of 48 per cent and 22 per cent respectively.
In addition, Star Sports First, accounted for 23 per cent of the total viewership generated on the inaugural day of the season.
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