With the new edition of the HBL Pakistan Super League (PSL) well underway, the nation has been well and truly struck by cricket fever. That is nowhere more apparent than in live streaming platforms, where the five PSL matches showcased so far have garnered a whopping 10 million views.
The main channel for live streaming PSL matches is the new Cricket Gateway PK Channel on YouTube, which lit up particularly during the ever-popular Karachi Kings vs. Lahore Qalandars match; a match that obtained a total of 1.48 million views.
This level of viewership is not just an indicator of the sport’s popularity in the country, but is also indicative of the excellent opportunity available to businesses to advertise their products and services. Along with the familiar faces in PSL, which include Pepsi, UL, RB and ABL, cellular network giants Jazz and Telenor as well as Procter & Gamble have also jumped on the advertising bandwagon.
Head of South Asia Markets Farhan Qureshi said, “With millions of cricket fans tuning in on their mobile devices and Smart TVs, the live stream on YouTube is an ideal opportunity for brands to reach a highly engaged audience. The future of spectator sports and online advertising in Pakistan are very closely intertwined and brands should not miss out”
Along with the aforementioned live streaming channel, other sources include Goonj.pk, Tapmad.com, Crick Wick and Jazz TV. With this boost in live streaming, efforts have been made to clamp down on pirated content as well, with each stream being analyzed for copyrighted or plagiarized content. As a result, over 4500 pirated beams have been banned within the first few matches of this season.
Ultimately, this increased engagement is contributing to the goal of making the PSL an all-inclusive event.
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