aMap has released viewership numbers for the first two days of cricketing action for the Indian Premier League's third season which kicked off in Mumbai on Friday.
The home-coming of the League has reflected positively for television viewership. According to data available with aMap, the ratings for Day One's cricketing action (Top 6 metros, C&S 15+) - Deccan Chargers versus Kolkata Knight Riders - showed a 22% jump from 3.5 last year to 4.3 this year. The match began at 20:00 hrs and went on till midnight.
The ratings reflected a marginal jump of 4% from 4.1 in the first season to 4.3 in this season of IPL.
Over and above, the net reach was 14% this season as compared to 12.6% in Season Two and 11.9% in Season One of the IPL.
On Saturday, the second day of the new season, viewership numbers had their own surprises. The ratings for the nail-biting Mumbai Indians versus Rajasthan Royals match saw ratings drop from 4.3 (as on Day One) to 3.5 while net reach was at 13.3%.
Meanwhile as the day progressed, the numbers tiptoed higher in the second match of the day - Kings XI Punjab versus Delhi Dare Devils - moving on to 4.4, while the net reach moved up to 15.8.
More updates to follow.
Note from aMap: Ratings (%) are reported for a relevant target group (that is people who follow that particular genre), which is C&S15+ for the sports genre. However, net reach is reported with the view of capturing the total audience without excluding any segment i.e. C&S4+.
Market: 6 metros (Mumbai, Delhi, Kolkata, Chennai, Bangalore, Hyderabad)