The FIFA World Cup 2022 has been flooding our social timelines with headlines and sparking conversations since the quadrennial tournament began almost a month ago. Cornering the viewership market on digital media, Viacom18-owned JioCinema has witnessed a spectacular surge in downloads.
But what will happen after the football World Cup ends? Where will JioCinema’s next big traffic source come from? Will it be the Indian Premier League and cricket? Will it be a compelling content portfolio that sustains the growth and mileage boost that the FIFA World Cup provided?
As per experts, only a good content library will be able to stabilize ad rates and push it further in the coming months for JioCinema.
Sources reveal the average CPM (cost per mille/thousand impressions) rate for the league matches of FIFA were Rs400, while that of semifinal and final matches were Rs500. Cost per spot for HD+CTV for 30 seconds was Rs3.2 lakh for league matches and Rs5.5 lakh for the semi-finals and finals. The SD+CTV rates stood at Rs1.75 lakh for the league matches and Rs3.5 lakh for the semi-finals and finals. The inventory as of today is completely sold out leaving no scope for last minute buying.
If compared with the most successful digital live sport property that is IPL, the CPM rate for FIFA was at least 30-40 percent higher than IPL 2022. However, the growth can only be sustained with continued effort in content development.
“FIFA has given JioCinema the much-needed boost to become a household brand in the coming years. One hook of this kind was needed to make it a preferred app on the screens of millions of Indians across the country. But its growth will be sustainable and further propelled only if the app constantly manages to constantly reinvent content and also bring in large format international events on Indian screens,” says Rutu Mody-Kamdar, founder of Jigsaw Brand Consultants.
Creating value for brands
Kumar Awanish, chief growth officer at Cheil India says the OTT space in India is a red ocean market where platforms are in a rat race to grab attention and boost user base growth. According to him, exclusivity is the way ahead to stand out.
“A property like FIFA gives the platform it is being aired on 100 percent exclusivity making it a value for money for all the brands collaborating with the platform. The platform has crossed 400 million plus downloads and will probably go up to 500 million by the finals which is more than 70 percent of the total internet users. The platform needed an IP like FIFA to get the numbers. Business will follow,” says Awanish.
Brands associated can expect anywhere between 2X and 3X recall value as compared to any other IPs, says Awanish.
Some of the brands collaborating with Viacom18 for FIFA include the likes of Visa, Kalyan Jewellers, ArcelorMittal Nippon Steel India, Mahindra Group, Spartan Poker, SBI and Cake Zone.
The challenge and the way forward
“JioCinema has to get bigger than being the platform that carries FIFA to continue the feat,” says Niti Kumar, chief operating officer, Starcom.
“The content line up has to be planned in a way that the free customers right now are ready to move to a paid model as well,” adds Kumar.
While there is no formal announcement on whether the IPL will be the next big live event to air on Jio Cinema, there is a good chance it will, given Viacom18’s decision to move all sports related properties from Voot to JioCinema.
Earlier this year, Viacom18 shelled out Rs 23,758 crore for Package B and Package C that club all digital rights together for the IPL 2023-2027 cycle.
Experts say the streaming of IPL on Viacom18 platforms has the potential to unlock the immense potential of the Bharat market and that is when subscriptions will start flowing in from not just metros but also Tier-II and Tier-III cities.