A huge crowd of spectators at the Eden, screaming and hoping that Chris Gayle can smash Anil Kumble all over the park, Matthew Hayden coming in to bat carrying a Mongoose, high decibel music coupled with dancing cheerleaders succeeding every boundary or wicket, Saurav Ganguly using all his captaincy brains to get Sachin Tendulkar out. These statements which might have been fragments of imagination or even absurdity a couple of years back is now the reality of the Indian Premier League. The slam-bang format of the so called “Gentleman’s Game” has been further sensationalized by the IPL. In a recent interview, Saurabh Tiwary (Mumbai Indians) said “If you make a century in a Ranji match, nobody notices, but even a quick-fire 30 in the IPL makes you popular.” Although this statement raises a lot of questions, it certainly gives one clear answer – The Indian Premier League has captured the imagination of the country.

The limited version of the game began with a 60 over format. Today a 20 over format is recognized and it has earned recognition. Add to this, shorter boundaries, batsman friendly pitches, breathtaking amount of money, fashion shows, plethora of sponsors and you have the recipe for the IPL. Experts often term this format as the “death of bowlers”. When you give it a thought, 10 batsmen, 20overs with no bowler being allowed to bowl more than 4, on flat tracks does seem a tad unfair to the bowlers. People on the other side of the spectrum defend themselves by calling it a “Test for bowlers” and entertainment for the masses. One cannot deny that it is thrilling to watch a Sehwag or a Gilchrist relentlessly smashing the ball to all corners or a team getting past 200 in 20overs. It is no doubt very entertaining, but this brings us to the biggest question of them all- What is IPL? Is it cricket? Or is it entertainment?

The government has been at loggerheads with the BCCI, the issue being the imposition of entertainment tax on the IPL. Two teams battling it out on the field is just a miniscule aspect of the IPL. Terms like revenue, sponsors, franchise have become part of the game like never before. What is it about IPL that is attracting so much of star power and money power? One answer is that IPL is a sensational platform for “Brand-building”. Various brands have showcased themselves either as individual sponsors of franchises or as a franchise itself. Sponsors greatly believe in the brand building capacity of the IPL. Mumbai Indians get revenue close to 50cr from their individual sponsors (Videocon Mobile Services, Thomas Cook, Kingfisher, Pepsi to name a few). Take a look at their jersey and you’ll have a hard time counting all the logos of the different brands in there. In addition, franchises earn from gate receipts, in-stadia advertising, merchandise sales as well as media tie-ups. SetMax renegotiated a deal of Rs 8,200cr with the IPL last year. Franchises get 80% of the revenue coming in from Max this year. No wonder two new teams are eager to become part of the bandwagon even at a base price of 225 million dollars. Also, the publicity that Shahrukh Khan, Shilpa Shetty, Preity Zinta, Vijay Mallya get during the tournament is so extensive, that now even Saifeena wants to join the party. According to analysts, the smaller franchises like KKR or the Rajasthan Royals will be logical from the business point of view, if they look for a stake out. I simply ask….ARE WE STILL TALKING CRICKET?

Next year with two new teams, 94 matches will have to be covered in the allotted 45 days. So “overdose of cricket” is set to have a new definition. The BCCI sits at the top of all charts, their profits expected to touch 700cr this year. Indulging in such exorbitant finances speaks volumes of a country where children still die eating mud. A country where national hockey players have to go on strike for their 5 figure salaries boasts of buying foreign players for millions of dollars. India is getting the eyes of the world with the IPL, it remains to be decided though if the eyes are gaping in awe at this spectacle or glaring in dismay at the foolishness. As viewers, IPL is a treat to watch- action packed and fun filled, but as citizens of a developing country, I think it’s time we start looking beyond the madness…

- Sanchayan Bhattacharjee -

Mountain Dew has partnered with Kings XI Punjab as its official sponsor for the upcoming season of IPL. The deal has earned exclusive rights for the IPL home matches by featuring the brand on player’s uniforms.

Alpana Titus, Executive Director (flavors) PepsiCo India told the press that the partnership will help Mountain Dew as a brand launch consumer engagements that will help strengthening the market share in North India specifically Haryana, Himachal, Punjab, Jammu and Kashmir. PepsiCo India has gained a good share in the market from Punjab and Haryana and Mountain Dew as a brand has been responsible for the growth of success.

Alpana Titus also disclosed that they are soon rolling out a campaign “’Dar ki Wicket Girayega to Hamare Saath Khelega’” for cricket fans who get to play with their favorite icons from KXIP. The winner also gets to take home branded merchandise, complementary tickets to IPL matches and other value added gifts.

The brand will adopt a 360 degree marketing approach and roll out marketing campaigns across colleges, marketplaces, radio, TV, outdoor and multiplexes, where direct engagement with consumers is possible.

There’s almost a month for IPL to get kick started, but the news just can’t stop pouring in. Be it the controversy around Pak players, live telecast on YouTube or the mere excitement of being back in India, we just can’t get enough of it. The latest is the deal cracked between IPL and Colors channel.

According to sources, a three-year licensing deal has been signed between IPL and Viacom18′s Hindi GEC, Colors. As part of the deal, special programmes will be created around IPL and the cricket wonders all year round to cater to the audience what is being termed as ‘cricketainment’.

IPL’s chairman and commissioner, Lalit Modi, said, “The partnership with Colors takes the IPL cricketainment quotient into an all-new orbit. With this unique partnership with the channel that we have entered on behalf of our franchisees, we are delivering on our promise to extend the IPL franchise beyond cricket, beyond the IPL season. This move combines our IPL cricketers’ mass appeal and Colors’ flagship format shows, to create an unprecedented genre of cricketainment.”

Rajesh Kamat, group chief operating officer, Viacom18, and chief executive officer, Colors, further added, “Both the tournament and the channel are two-year old brands and both believe in being disruptive. IPL created a stir in the game of cricket and Colors did the same in the GEC space. The coming together of the two brands is a deadly mix of religion and passion — cricket is a religion with the cricket-crazy nation and Bollywood stars are a passion with Bollywood lovers.”

The programming innovation at Colors will see national and International players starring in reality show Fear Factor Khatron Ke Khiladi, post IPL. Apart from this, an award show, titled IPL Awards Night will also feature on the channel followed by a cricket talent hunt show Rockstar.

Kamat concluded, “Fiction is bread and butter for the channel. Thus, IPL-led content will be geared to fit towards non-fiction slots. Moreover, IPL-based content will serve to add variety to the content on offer for viewers.”

The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) during its 80th annual general meeting (AGM) in Mumbai announced the decision to restore IMG as the promoting agency for the Indian Premier League (IPL) Twenty20 tournament. The agency was associated with IPL since the first season, but things changed after dispute over their fee for the second season held at South Africa.

The agency had presented a bill of Rs 33 crore to BCCI, which was not accepted by the board as it seemed objectionable to some BCCI officials. The Board’s demand to lower the fee was not accepted by IMG, which later decided to terminate the contract at a meeting of its working committee on 13 August, with BCCI secretary N. Srinivasan conveying the message in writing to the agency.

However, with seven out of eight IPL teams favoring IMG along with support from agriculture minister and former board president Sharad Pawar, league boss Lalit Modi and broadcast partner Multi Screen Media Pvt. Ltd, BCCI had to reopen talks with IMG.

While IMG will be paid Rs33 crore for its work on the second season of IPL in South Africa early this year, the new agreement states that IMG will have to settle for a fixed sum of Rs27 crore as annual fee for the next eight years of the contract, said Shashank Manohar, president, BCCI.