JioHotstar-Nielsen: Can IPL 2025 reshape digital advertising with new measurement tools? – Exchange4Media

The Tata IPL 2025 may well be a game-changer for advertisers, not just due to its massive viewership but also because of JioHotstar’s collaboration with Nielsen to introduce advanced ad measurement tools. With IPL’s digital reach hitting 550-600 million viewers in 2024, this partnership is promising to provide brands and agencies with unprecedented transparency and actionable insights.
The IPL 2025 ecosystem is projected to generate ₹6,000-₹7,000 crore in advertising revenue across TV, digital platforms, team sponsorships, and on-ground ads. JioStar alone expects ₹4,500 crore from ad revenues, marking a significant increase from ₹4,000 crore in 2024.
Maya Nair, Head of dentsu Programmatic, underscores the significance of the collaboration, noting “The merger of JioCinema and Disney+ Hotstar has created a streaming behemoth, offering a vast content library across sports and premium entertainment.”
According to reports, IPL teams could collectively earn up to ₹1,300 crore in sponsorship deals, with major franchises like Mumbai Indians and Chennai Super Kings securing ₹100-₹150 crore each. In 2024, IPL’s brand value rose by 13% to $12 billion, reflecting its growing appeal among advertisers and audiences alike.
And in such a high-value market, Poulomi Roy, Chief Marketing Officer at RSH Global, highlights the challenges marketers face in measuring campaign effectiveness holistically, noting, “The biggest pain point for any marketer or media house is how to measure the holistic effect. It’s an uphill task. We all are trying to do the same thing because even the media properties are aware of the fact that there is a lot of money riding on this.”
She adds that third-party research conducted by platforms like Star Sports has helped refine creatives and improve frequency strategies—a practice that could be further enhanced with Nielsen’s independent analytics.
Mayank Shah, Vice President at Parle Products, believes that this was much needed because the level of transparency that existed earlier was not sufficient. There were issues related to frequency gaps. More often than not, while the promised ad deliveries in terms of total quantum and number of views were being met, what was not being adequately monitored was the frequency of exposure. 
Ideally, ads should reach a larger number of people at least three times rather than a smaller audience seeing the same ad eight to ten times, which leads to ad fatigue. In such cases, instead of reinforcing the brand message, excessive exposure becomes counterproductive, as per him.
Transparency as a Game-Changer
Transparency has emerged as a critical factor in driving advertiser confidence, especially in India’s Rs 1.1 trillion ad industry, where digital advertising accounts for nearly half of all spending, a market share that’s only going to go up in the coming years.
Ajay Verma, Managing Partner at 0101.Today, sees JioHotstar’s partnership with Nielsen as a disruptive force but raises questions about its longevity: “JioHotStar’s partnership with Nielsen to deliver transparency and accountability is a welcome change. But I think it’s just an entry strategy in a market dominated by Google and Meta. Bringing in transparency and accountability will reinforce confidence. And who better than JioStar as they dominate the broadcasting industry? This transparency can have a larger impact—one for the good.”
Verma also cautions against potential pitfalls based on historical trends with digital giants like Google and Meta, noting how initial transparency strategies often evolve into more opaque systems over time.
Nair echoes similar sentiments about transparency but emphasizes its transformative potential across platforms, saying, “With JioStar and Nielsen collaborating on audience measurement, analytics, and transparent reporting, the industry is poised for a major transformation. Ideally, this would lead to a unified measurement system across CTV, mobile, and web platforms, enabling advertisers to gain deeper insights across multiple touchpoints.”
She also points out that if Jio Ads can deliver enhanced engagement metrics across Jio’s ecosystem—including e-commerce and retail media networks—it could compel advertisers to rethink their spending strategies in favour of more data-rich channels.
However, some marketers we spoke to said that while it all sounded great, they were waiting for some more clarity on the details.
Roy adds another layer to the conversation by questioning the specifics of JioHotstar’s approach, saying marketers will be asking “What exactly are you going to do? How much of it is going to be extremely efficient or helpful is a big question.”
She stresses the need for clarity on how metrics will be calculated and correlated across diverse viewing segments. Her observations reflect broader advertiser concerns about fragmented viewing preferences across Connected TV (CTV), mobile devices, and web platforms—a challenge that Nielsen’s tools aim to address.

Shah mentioned that previously, ads were being shown repeatedly to the same people, which meant that while the total number of views matched expectations, it was unclear whether those views came from unique individuals or the same audience repeatedly. This resulted in overexposure, leading to consumer fatigue and a diminishing impact of the brand message. With Nielsen’s involvement, the industry now has a better tracking mechanism to address these issues. This partnership enhances transparency, ensuring that advertisers can be more confident about their campaigns.
He adds, “While this may not necessarily lead to increased spending, advertisers will now have greater assurance that their investments are being optimized effectively.”
IPL’s Unique Role in Driving Awareness
For advertisers investing heavily in IPL campaigns, the stakes are high. IPL has long been regarded as a platform for brand visibility rather than direct conversions. Siya Wadhwan, Head of Brand Marketing at Boldfit, explains, “IPL has always been about awareness; you can’t put a number to conversion because those are perceptions that are driving metrics; they won’t hit the needle on the head at the same time.”
And as IPL media rights’ holder until 2027, JioHotstar is uniquely positioned to leverage its extensive viewer base while setting new benchmarks for campaign measurement during IPL 2025.
By combining Nielsen’s expertise with its own ecosystem spanning sports broadcasting, e-commerce platforms, telecom services, and retail media networks, JioHotstar offers brands an opportunity to enhance ROI while navigating India’s dynamic media landscape.
Nair highlights how JioHotstar’s collaboration with Nielsen could set new benchmarks not just for IPL but for advertising across sports properties, saying, “This push for transparency could compel other platforms to set new standards in analytics and attribution. If Jio Ads can deliver attribution and enhanced engagement metrics across Jio’s ecosystem, it could drive advertisers to rethink their spending strategies.”
She notes that India’s fragmented Connected TV landscape—with BVOD (Broadcaster Video On Demand), SVOD (Subscription Video On Demand), and AVOD (Advertising Video On Demand) platforms—adds complexity to campaign measurement but also creates opportunities for innovation.
Roy also points out how smaller towns have seen significant growth due to targeted strategies backed by data-driven insights from platforms like Star Sports—a trend that could accelerate with JioHotstar’s integration of Nielsen analytics. “The numbers show that this strategy works,” she says.
The collaboration between JioHotstar and Nielsen represents more than just technological advancement; it signals an industry-wide shift towards greater accountability and precision in digital advertising. Whether this initiative leads to long-term changes or serves as an entry strategy remains uncertain—but its immediate impact on campaign measurement during IPL 2025 is undeniable. For brands seeking transparency and actionable insights in one of India’s most-watched sporting events, this partnership could redefine how success is measured across digital platforms.
 
 
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