Mumbai: JioCinema, the official streaming platform for the cash-rich Twenty20 cricket league the Tata IPL 2024 season said that it saw over 11.3 crore viewers logged in on Day 1, a 51% increase compared to Day 1 of TATA IPL 2023. As JioCinema commenced its second season on digital, over 59 Crore video views were registered on the platform for the opening day which led to 660 crore minutes of watch-time.
The opening match on JioCinema played on 22 March 2024 between the defending champions Chennai Super Kings (CSK) and the Royal Challengers Bengaluru RCB), saw former cricketers Sachin Tendulkar, Virender Sehwag in the commentary box. Sehwag commentated in Haryanvi for the first time. Singer Badshah was in JioCinema’s Punjabi and Haryanvi commentary box.
There was also the latest edition of JioCinema’s free-to-play predict and win game, Jeeto Dhan Dhana Dhan. The opening night contest saw a viewer winning gold worth Rs. 50 lakhs, while the first runner-up won gold worth Rs. 10 lakhs. More than 50 participants won gold worth Rs. 1 lakh each. Viewers will also be able to win a motorcycle, a smart TV, and plenty of vouchers for each game from the second match onwards.
“We resumed where we left last year, and the numbers testify there is no better way to experience the TATA IPL than digital. India has completed its transition to being a digital-first sports consuming nation and the opening game record numbers validate this. We are going to see benchmarks reset and records re-written throughout the course of this season” said a Viacom18 spokesperson.
JioCinema saw six consumer brands, Dream11, Charged by Thums Up, Parle Products, Britannia, Dalmia Cements, and HDFC Bank, debuting their TATA IPL campaign within the first six overs of the opening game under the newly introduced JioCinema Brand Spotlight. This season kicked off Friday night with what the company said was a record 18 sponsors and over 250 advertisers.
The new season is once again free on JioCinema. In addition, fans will be able to catch the latest season in 4K, across 12 languages, including Haryanvi for the first time, with multi-cam options, including the much-hyped Hero Cam.
