52m viewers, 22% women, for ISL’s first round

Nearly 91% of the viewers of the Indian Super League (ISL), which kicked off last weekend and is free on YouTube, watched on mobile phones. The percentage of women viewers was 22% and at 31.5%, the 25-34 age group was the most engaged followed by those between 13 and 24 which accounted for 21% of total viewers.

As per data shared by YouTube, the first five matches recorded 65 million views, had 52 million viewers and added 120,000 subscribers to the ISL’s YouTube channel, bringing the total to 2.7 million. HT has a copy.

The numbers could grow to over 75 million views and 136,000 new subscribers once data from Wednesday’s match between Punjab FC and Odisha FC is incorporated, said a club official. Of the new subscribers, 29,100 were added on Monday evening when NorthEast United hosted Mohun Bagan Super Giant, the most. The next best was the match between Inter Kashi and Kerala Blasters which added 26,700. At 19.27 million, Monday’s match had the most views. All this in a week when defending champions East Bengal skipped a round in the 13-team league.

The opening match between Bengaluru FC and Sporting Club Delhi drew 85,277 viewers on the English commentary feed, according to a media release from ISL on Thursday. That grew to 349,073 when Kashi hosted Kerala Blasters in Pune on Sunday, the most in this round. Matches are available on English and Hindi feeds on YouTube.

The initial response would make the clubs happy. Fifty-five percent of the advertisement revenue generated on YouTube from the 163-match competition would go to the clubs.

ISL is also available on Sony Liv but taking it to YouTube was one way of checking the product’s reach and growing it, Ravi Puskur, FC Goa CEO had said before the competition started on October 10. The idea, a first in live sports in India, came from Kalyan Chaubey, the All India Football Federation (AIFF) president. “He asked one of the owners to explore the possibility,” said the official who gave the projected numbers for all six first-round matches.

“Some of the club CEOs, AIFF officials and two owners met in Delhi. After the meeting, the opinion of another owner was also sought. Once they greenlit this, we spoke to YouTube’s India representatives on a video call,” said the official.

ISL, which turned 13 this season, kicked off with a title sponsor, JSW MG Motor. These numbers will help in negotiations with associate sponsors, said the official. Not authorised to speak with the media, the official did not want to be named.