BARC ratings reason behind BCCI avoiding Diwali weekend for IPL, reveals BCCI official
A BCCI official has stated that the Broadcast Audience Research Council ratings always drops during the Diwali weekend, which is the reason behind the BCCI not favouring that time normally. The official has also added that the BCCI is ready to have a discussion with Star India.
As the BCCI earmarked September 26 as the potential date to start the 13th edition of the IPL, rescheduling the tournament from 60 days to 44 days, Star India found it baffling that the league ends just the previous weekend of the 2020 Diwali. Given the cold market that is in India now due to the COVID-19 situation, Star Sports thought of using Diwali for some advertisement revenue but that has gone out of the window now.
Justifying the move, however, a BCCI official stated that the concept of Diwali has changed over the last few years and BARC (Broadcast Audience Research Council) ratings have been not so productive on those weekends.
"We can always sit down and discuss the matter with Star India, although we have discussed BARC ratings with them in the past as well since they not only broadcast IPL but also have the rights to broadcast Indian cricket. The Diwali weekend actually sees a dip in BARC ratings and that is why we have seen our national team generally take a break at that point in time,” a BCCI official told IANS.
"Not only do the players get a well-deserved break, but also spend quality time with near and dear ones during one of the biggest celebrations in the country. We can always discuss this with the broadcasters again if there is any sort of confusion. This is the sole reason why the IPL isn't extended into the Diwali weekend," the official explained.
However, a franchise official stated that although it would have been beneficial for the broadcaster to sell the last few bits at a higher rate, it wouldn't matter for a lot for the franchises.
"See, if you are talking from the franchise point of view, there isn't too much of a difference for us because it isn't like we are playing with fans in India and more people would come in and we would generate more revenue from gate money.
"But yes, just from the broadcaster's point of view, there could be a case that while 75-80 per cent of the inventory has been sold off, there is still that last bit which would obviously be sold at a higher rate if we went into the Diwali weekend," the official told IANS.