The IPL is a strong brand and notwithstanding the current crisis, ad revenues are expected to go up by 50 per cent in season four. Good news indeed for an event that has briefly walked the path of notoriety due to glitches in its administrative set-up, writes K. C. Vijaya Kumar.
Cricketers are dusting aside the Indian Premier League-induced stardust as they get busy with the ICC WorldTwenty20 in the West Indies. But the IPL, which Rahul Dravid described as “a domestic tournament with an international flavour”, is in the news for the wrong reasons.
The alleged financial irregularities and whispers of tax havens like Mauritius have nudged the tournament to the front page rather than its regular safe haunt of the back pages. The IPL is in the throes of an image crisis but there is no questioning its success as a brand.
“Time heals and in a year from now all this would be forgotten,” has been the constant refrain of brand analysts.
The tournament has grown at a rapid pace ever since it was unveiled in 2008 and its viewership has spanned continents and lured enough eye-balls for advertisers to hop on and hope for a positive spin-off from cricket's latest brand. With a viewership rating of 5.7, which according to television tracking officials is a 41 per cent increaseover the figures for the second edition in South Africa, the tournament's halo has become bigger and brighter despite its dark fringe of dubious dollars.
The ad-revenue from IPL-3 touched the Rs. 650-crore mark according to market watchers and it is reportedly 30 per cent more than the second season. Reportedly, 850 websites and 6,500 videos illegally leaked IPL footage with piracy, which in a perverse way is a reflection of an event's popularity, spreading across theglobe. In a bid to counter the spread of unauthorised content, the recent matches were also available onYoutube as the organisers raked in the moolah.
‘Content is king,' is a cliché and a truism that is often associated with movies, books and all forms of creative endeavour. It is a phrase that can be linked with cricket too as the IPL braved its latest crisis through its mix of gripping matches and intense contests. It has a history of exciting cricket that has strengthened its base. In 2008,Rajasthan Royals trumped the odds as Shane Warne uncorked his captaincy magic. In 2009, Deccan Chargers shrugged its diffidence and defeated another dark horse — Royal Challengers Bangalore — for the title.
In the latest edition, Chennai Super Kings rose from the ashes to gain the crown. The tournament, over three years, has dished out upsets, close contests and fresh heroes. Until the latest fracas over bids and money, the only issues that it had to contend with were minor in nature like Matthew Hayden's injury duringthe inaugural edition causing heart-burn in Australia and the conflict of words over a specific IPL window every year.
Recently Sachin Tendulkar said that ‘as long as the matches are competitive the fans will support the tournament.' And in a recent conclave in Dubai, Dravid mentioned that the ‘IPL has added a new fan base among women and kids.' Indian skipper M. S. Dhoni too pointed out to the IPL's rapid progress. “We have grown and with eachseason, we have come up with something better,” Dhoni said after guiding CSK to its maiden title.
“There are more kids wearing the team colours in the stands and stadiums are full. I am sure IPL will get past the off-field issues. Ultimately cricket will take the brand forward. As long as the matches remain intense, fans will come in. May be if you have too many one-sided games then the fans might get upset, but as long as it is good, hard cricket, the brand will get bigger,” said Brijesh Patel, who is the Karnataka State Cricket Association secretary as well as the CEO of Royal Challengers Bangalore.
That the tournament isbound to strike deeper cricketing and commercial roots was reiterated by Ramanujam Sridhar, CEO, Brand Comm, and a regular columnist with The Hindu Businessline. “The IPL has the potential to be a highly successful global brand. Due credit has to be given to Lalit Modi for the way he conceived it. The concept is good as it deals with the popular T20. Agreed there are certain voices in the western media who write derisively about the cheer leaders and the poor commentary, but I see it as a result of an envious feeling because in the United Kingdom and other countries, people are tuning into the IPL. If a Satyam like fiasco has now happened within its structure then somebody should clean it up. Modi had become synonymous with thebrand and he is now under a cloud, but the IPL is not just about him. It is also about the players,” Sridhar said.
The players have indeed done their roles well. Be it a Shane Watson or a Yusuf Pathan, who have waltzed into recognition and richesthanks to the IPL, or the current bunch of Murali Vijay, R. Ashwin, R. Vinay Kumar, Ambati Rayudu andDavidWarner, cricketers have been in the news on the weight of their performances and that augurs well for the tournament. “You have blokes, whom not many know about, suddenly scoring 70 or 80 runs and becoming instantstars and brands. It is great, actually,” said Kevin Pietersen.
Shailendra Singh, joint managing director of Percept, an advertising and communications company, emphasisedthat the longevity of the brand cannot be doubted. “The brand is stronger than the latest controversy. Thankfully, the consumer is strong and the franchisees are strong.
People like Mukesh Ambani,Vijay Mallya or Subroto Roy have weathered many a storm and survived and they are not going to vanish with their teams just like that. So the IPL will remain successful, now how successful it is depends on the policies of the BCCI,” Singh said.
And as the IPL annualextravaganza continues to motor on, ad revenues are expected to go up by 50 per cent in season four. Good news indeed for an event that has briefly walked the path of notoriety due to glitches in its administrative set-up.
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