YouTube IPL views double for initial matches
Live streaming of the first three IPL matches was watched by 1.5 mn viewers, according to Google India
Premium(This is the fourth year that YouTube is streaming IPL matches. In 2010, the website first began live streaming of the Twenty20 cricket tournament.)
Mumbai: Early matches played in the Indian Premier League (IPL) this year have attracted double the views they did last year on Google Inc.’s video streaming website YouTube. Live streaming of the first three IPL matches was watched by 1.5 million viewers, according to data provided by Google India.
The sixth season of the Twenty20 cricket tournament started on 3 April at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata with a match between the Delhi Daredevils and Kolkata Knight Riders. The second match was played between Royal Challengers Bangalore and Mumbai Indians on 4 April and the third was played between Sunrisers Hyderabad and Pune Warriors India on 5 April.
The current season concludes on 26 May. Untill 5 April, league matches had recorded 3.5 million channel views, including live streaming, on YouTube.
“Live streaming of IPL has been a phenomenal success for YouTube. We have seen over 50% growth in viewership year on year," Sandeep Menon, country head of marketing for Google India, said by email. “This year, we will be adding several new features to ensure that our users can enjoy a brand new experience of watching IPL live on YouTube."
This is the fourth year that YouTube is streaming IPL matches. In 2010, the website first began live streaming of the Twenty20 cricket tournament. Back then, it garnered 54 million channel views, coming from nearly 200 countries, with maximum viewers from India, according to Google data.
Global Cricket Ventures (GCV), the then owner of IPL’s Internet rights, signed a deal with YouTube in 2010. The deal was scrapped after the tournament came under the scanner following allegations of wrondoing during the term of former IPL commissioner Lalit Modi.
In 2011, the Board of Control for Cricket in India sold the new media rights to Bennett Coleman and Co. Ltd’s digital media company Times Internet Ltd, which is now streaming IPL matches through YouTube under a ₹ 261.6-crore, four-year deal.
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