When it comes to TRPs, IPL's whipping boys KKR score high

Despite plummeting to the bottom of the teams’ ranking table in the current edition of Indian Premier League (IPL 2) tournament currently underway in South Africa, Indian television viewers have not deserted the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) team.

The Shah Rukh Khan-owned IPL team has won only two out of the 13 games each team has played so far. But, when it comes to television rating points, KKR is placed fourth – close behind the teams of Chennai, Delhi and Bangalore – on the basis of average viewership ratings.

In fact, peak ratings of KKR matches on SET MAX channel are among the highest at around 6 per cent of the universe of cable viewers above the age of 15 years, says an analysis of the viewership data provided by overnight ratings agency Audience Measurement and Analytics Ltd (aMap).

This, according to media experts, is due the close matches KKR has been involved in with other teams, with the results of most of them being decided only in the last over – mostly against KKR.

The team’s average match ratings of 3.3 per cent is more than the television ratings of 3.2 generated by the 52 matches played so far in IPL 2. According to aMap data, KKR’s average television ratings for the 12 matches it played (one match was cancelled due to rains) stands at 3.3 per cent, marginally behind the average ratings generated during the matches of Bangalore (3.5) and Delhi (3.7).

The average match ratings of Chennai Super Kings, captained by MS Dhoni, is the highest at 4.2 even as it looks at securing a place in the semi-finals of IPL 2. Last year, the Chennai IPL team was the runner-up after getting defeated by Shane Warne’s Rajasthan Royals.

Half of the KKR matches have managed to get an average ratings of around 4, which is considered very high by media planners, especially for the age group of 15-plus, which is the target demographic for most of KKR’s sponsors. KKR has got sponsors like Reebok, Nokia, Star Plus and Sprite, among others.

“From an advertiser’s point of view, we have got a lot of mileage and media space for the right and wrong reasons. The fact that it has managed to attract television viewership and on-ground support from spectators speaks a lot about the brand KKR,” says a source representing one of the sponsors of KKR team.

At the end of the first edition of the IPL tournament last year, KKR was one of only two teams that were cash-positive. But it has been struggling this year – even before the tournament started.

First, it changed its captain Sourav Ganguly with Brendon McCullum, the New Zealand batsman-wicketkeeper. Then some of its key players, like West Indian batsmen Chris Gayle and Ganguly himself struggled with their batting, which accounted for some of the losses in close encounters with other teams, according to cricket experts.