IPL Cinema & JioCinema : Statistical Analysis of Success IPL Batting Lineups
IPL 2024 attracted more than 33 million concurrent viewers – setting a world record for live-streamed events – putting OTT JioCinema platforms under intense scrutiny to monazite sports content and expand their subscriber bases.
Mukesh Ambani, Asia’s richest tycoon, chose traffic-driven advertising revenue over paid subscriptions when purchasing IPL rights this year. His goal was not philanthropy but long term disruption as per IPL Cinema Review.
1. Chennai Super Kings
Chennai Super Kings have been dominating the Indian Premier League since its inaugural edition in 2008. Starting as runners-up during season one and winning championship two, they then moved onto semi-finalists and then champions for consecutive editions – their combination of Indian and international players makes them an unstoppable force.
In their current season, they have won nine of 13 matches and lead the points table. Furthermore, they qualified for playoffs and will face Rajasthan Royals in their final match; an important clash that could determine both teams’ fates.
Chennai Super Kings’ strong batting lineup has enabled them to easily score runs this tournament. Their top and middle orders are both strong; Shubman Gill, Vijay Shankar, and Ambati Rayudu add further power-hitting capabilities. Furthermore, CSK brought back Varun Chahar for auction and his newly developed knuckleball and back-of-a-length offcutters have already proven effective against opponents.
On Monday night, Chennai Super Kings’ match against Gujarat Titans brought in 32 million peak concurrent viewers on JioCinema – surpassing the previous record of 25.7 million set by their second qualifier between these teams in 2014. JioCinema is Viacom18’s digital streaming platform and India’s premier OTT offering for IPL matches; available both on connected TVs and mobile devices with easy one-touch access to highlights, camera fixation on favorite players, real time subtitles of commentary as well as powerful telco data powering it – receiving accolade for targeting viewers effectively.
2. Royal Challengers Bangalore
The Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) are an Indian Premier League (IPL) cricket franchise team based out of Bengaluru, Karnataka that were established by United Spirits and named for its flagship product ‘Royal Challenger’. Established in 2008 by United Spirits and known for winning five games each season since, RCB have become a fan-favorite due to their talented lineup featuring Virat Kohli, AB de Villiers, Glenn Maxwell Moeen Ali & Sam Curran!
RCB have had their fair share of struggles throughout their history. After finishing fifth place during their inaugural season, followed by an underwhelming 2014 campaign which only produced five victories from 14 matches, Virat Kohli took charge as captain and led his batting charge into 2015. But things soon began turning around.
Chris Gayle, AB de Villiers and Glenn Maxwell provide Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) with an unbeatable lineup. Thanks to RCB’s strong start in 2018, there is a good chance they could qualify for playoffs this year.
Reliance-backed JioCinema’s free streaming of IPL on connected TV devices this season has helped drive digital ad spending for the tournament, according to GroupM’s TYNY report. India’s total IPL advertising spend this year is expected to increase 15.5 percent to $14.6 billion; digital video advertising should account for most of this ad spend while traditional television may face challenges in its market due to viewership declines of IPL matches.
3. Delhi Daredevils
Following their disappointing 2008 campaign, Delhi Daredevils welcomed new players such as Afro-English batsman Kevin Pietersen, Sri Lankan batter Mahela Jayawardene, and Kiwi batsman Ross Taylor into their fold in 2009. As a result of this addition of players, they finished fourth overall in the table, winning seven and losing six matches; Gautam Gambhir led their run-scoring with 534 runs while Yo Mahesh took 16 wickets as top wicket-taker.
The Daredevils struggled in subsequent seasons, winning only three matches and being eliminated in the first round by Rajasthan Royals. But in 2016, their performance improved drastically as they managed to win nine games: with wins over Kolkata Knight Riders and Mumbai Indians to kickstart the tournament and then dominating their pool stage by upsetting Sunrisers Hyderabad before eventually losing against Chennai Super Kings in an eliminator match-up.
This year, the Daredevils hope to build upon their success and make an even greater mark in IPL 2023. Their young squad boasts many talented players and considerable momentum, led by Kagiso Rabada and Anrich Nortje in bowling; Dhawan, Pant, Shaw and Shubham Gill will provide plenty of batting firepower.
This year’s IPL should witness an exponentially greater digital advertising spend as brands increasingly favor this medium due to increase data availability and smartphone penetration. FMCG budgets will likely be split equally between TV and digital advertising spend – though RIL-own companies’ spend will shift heavily towards JioCinema, the exclusive streaming rights holder for IPL; sectors like auto have already reallocate part of their budget to JioCinema while new economy categories such as gaming have completely switch all budget allocation to JioCinema.
4. Mumbai Indians
Mumbai Indians possess one of the strongest batting lineups in all of IPL, featuring an aggressive opener, stable middle order players, and powerful finishers. Furthermore, four-time winners Mumbai have hired Chris Lynn who will add a destructive element to their top order batting group.
In the third edition of IPL, Mumbai Indians won eight out of their first ten matches to advance to the semi-finals, only to be defeat by MS Dhoni’s Chennai Super Kings (CSK). Sachin Tendulkar led his side’s run scoring while Lasith Malinga led wicket taking. At auctions, Rohit Sharma and Andrew Symonds from now-defunct Deccan Chargers for undisclosed sums while Munaf Patel added his bowling attack.
Mumbai Indians found it difficult to establish an effective opening combination. Harbhajan Singh took over captaincy following Tendulkar’s departure, yet could only win five games as captain of his side. Since re-signing Tendulkar as captain and looking forward to improving batting performances this season.
Indian Premier League matches are an enormously popular spectacle across India and demand for live streams is at an all-time high. Thanks to India’s massive mobile base and millions of households having access to broadband connections, JioCinema’s free streaming service has quickly become the go-to spot for IPL broadcasts.
Last year, advertisers saw IPL as an enormous opportunity for advertisement. Last year, BCCI divided up TV and digital rights packages in two separate packages; Disney Star (parent company of Hotstar) won TV rights for Rs 23,575 crore while Reliance-backed Viacom18 operating JioCinema won digital rights for Rs 23,758 crore as per Pioneer Epaper.
5. Rajasthan Royals
IPL has traditionally been seen as a competition that pits batters against batters, with certain teams possessing potency-laden batting lineups that can turn any game on its head. Yet, during the recent auctions many franchises increased their bowling departments significantly while some teams like Mumbai Indians, CSK and RCB have managed to balance these departments through explosive batting lineups and balanced approach to team selection.
Rajasthan Royals must follow in this vein if they wish to have any chance at success this season. With such an illustrious roster, all they need to make things click is for everything to click seamlessly – Jos Buttler at the top is one of T20 cricket’s most destructive openers; Shimron Hetmyer and Sanju Samson in their middle order and Jimmy Neesham as an all-rounder complete their ranks.
But their team’s biggest weakness lies in its ineffective bowling unit. Though Rahmanullah Gurbaz, Liton Das, and N Jagadeesan all possess good players to help push them through to deeper tournament play, more will need to do their part if Royals want a chance of survival.
