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India's dismal performance hits TV viewership, advertisers edgy

Now with India having lost the test series post the Perth defeat, the numbers are expected to fall further. This is likely to affect the way advertisers invest in media space buying, feels Ajay Chandwani, Director, Percept, an agency.

Haier Brain Wave: The headset can sense if the user wants something on a TV set to go up or down. Source: AP
Haier Brain Wave: The headset can sense if the user wants something on a TV set to go up or down. Source: AP

Team India is feeling the heat down under. So are companies that back India's multi-billion dollar cricket board and players.

A decline in viewership numbers across the country could hurt much harder than the actual defeat in the test match.

A massive decline in the viewership ratings for the ongoing series between India and Australia has set the cat among the pigeons.

TAM Sports - a division of TAM Media research said that the first test match between India vs West Indies test series between November and December last year recorded a television viewership of 0.98.  The ODI series, in comparison, recorded an impressive rating of 3.46.

But viewership dropped again during the India-Australian series with the first two tests registering an average rating of 0.89 and 0.70 respectively.

Now with India having lost the test series post the Perth defeat, the numbers are expected to fall further. This is likely to affect the way advertisers invest in media space buying, feels Ajay Chandwani, Director, Percept, an agency.

“Further investment will definitely get dented by performance. Therefore clients will be wary of where they advertise and how much it costs,” Chandwani said.

However, advertising firms claim that this could be a temporary phase and it would not be long before the viewership ratings are back on track.

 According to Vinil Mathew, Head - Footcandles Films, the fall in TRP is likely to cause a crisis in advertising.

“You will lose audience, viewer interest and generally there is a negative feedback,” Mathew said.

Advertising companies however remain optimistic of a possible turnaround in the coming months.

But it would only take another two winning tours to bounce back, he added.

While media firms foresee a subsequent decline in ad revenues, ad film makers however, remain optimistic of a possible turnaround in the coming months.