MUMBAI: The curtains go up for the 14th edition of the VIVO Indian Premier League at 7.30 pm later Friday, April 9th, with world cricket’s bio bubble-cocooned superstars battling it out for the ultimate prize over the next two odd months.
The IPL, conceived as essentially a made for television spectacle, will play to that template, without fans in the stadia, the BCCI’s hand forced by the upsurge in COVID-19 cases battering the country.
No fans in the stands and the curbs on public movement initiated by authorities to varying degrees nationwide, is expected to translate into new benchmarks in viewership for host broadcaster Star-Disney. Which also means that the reported advertising revenue target set by the network of Rs 33 billion will more than likely be achieved.
That eight IPL franchises are also in clover goes without saying. IPL team Delhi Capitals has officially confirmed achieving its highest ever sponsorship revenues, that too up a massive 50% over 2020 (which was in itself a record). To varying degrees, the other seven teams would likely as not have similar success stories to tell.
And even as Star-Disney rakes it in on the revenues front, the network is going the whole hog when it comes to delivering a never-before-experienced viewer experience (at least in this market).
On the programming front, the broadcaster will be delivering a megacast of nine concurrent live IPL feeds. There will be regional feeds in Hindi, Tamil, Telugu, Kannada, Bangla, Marathi, and Malayalam along with World Feed, Select Dugout, and Hotstar (English).
Sanjog Gupta, head – Sports, Star and Disney India pointed out: “Our endeavour has been to reach fans across the country, engage with them in the language of their choice and deliver a culturally relevant experience. We have a rich pool of cricketing experts from across languages joining us this year to amplify the excitement of the match and engage fans. We also believe that the commentary box is no longer restrained by physical boundaries. Today we have technology that allows experts from all over the world to log in, contribute to live commentary, and bring games to life. This has allowed us to put together arguably the best ever commentary panel for IPL despite restrictions in travel and movement imposed upon us due to the pandemic.”
Elaborating on the technology driven innovations, Gupta had earlier revealed to exchange4media that some of the tech innovations planned by Star Disney include Cheer@home 2.0, AI-Based Super Motion Replays, Automated Highlights, Mixed Reality cricket analysis, Gesture-based interactive games, and The Fan Wall 2.0.
Cheer@home 2.0 is the definitive Star/Disney+ Hotstar audience engagement platform that delivers curated, interactive audio giving a voice on air to millions at home. This year brings a chance for audiences to vote for new chants for their favourite players and rising stars. A vast bank of non-generic samples was built to ensure every nuance is captured for optimum realism.
Through AI-Based Super Motion Replays, the broadcaster can play replays from any camera angle thereby exposing the viewer to never seen before enhanced storytelling. The broadcaster said that this is revolutionary as previously replays could only happen using a limited number of fixed hyper-motion cameras.
Star Disney’s Hindi and English feeds have been enhanced to turn around fully automated, customised, creatively curated highlights for the full match and key moments. An algorithm-led event ranking system allows for consistent output, ensuring all critical events affecting the result of the match are covered eliminating manual human intervention.
The broadcaster has also expanded its VR tool for experts to deliver next-level analysis. Experts can now not only replay balls just after they have happened based on precise physics but do so in mixed reality. This is the first time an MR view of a VR application has been used on the broadcast. Deliveries can be viewed from impossible angles recreated by virtual cameras allowing for a deeper analysis. Different fielding configurations, strategy and bowling techniques can be explored along with pitch conditions.
Star Disney has also created a series of fun and visually exciting AR games based on gesture sensing tech. Viewers can cheer for their favourite presenter as they participate in ‘cricket runner,’ an action-filled game inspired by ‘Temple Run’ with a cricketing twist.
As part of The Fan Wall 2.0, Star Disney has exponentially increased the number of fans who will be able to connect by extending the fanwall to be available for regional feeds, and added the ability for fans to be able to interact directly with each other and producers, building a sense of community that transcends distance.
The broadcaster has also built Touch to AR, an in-house proprietary technology, which will allow viewers to see realistic player 3D characters move around a 3D AR pitch with realistic animations and changing jerseys.
Further, real-time graphic interactions have been enabled for presenters, producing a dynamic mixed reality experience where graphics on LED screens can be ‘pulled out’ and manifest as 3D AR graphics in the studio. Hand-worn bands are given to presenters to enable gesture control of AR graphics.
With commentary box being the second most visible space on air during the game, Star Disney has brought in additional camera angles to support narratives and better visibility of tactics on the field. The AR graphics provide a rich content output for audiences and allows for more in-depth and relevant analysis not previously possible.
The broadcaster is also introducing a new tool called CRICKO which has the ability to recall the most detailed info on player performance.
Hat tip again to e4m for this glimpse of what is in the works as far as the on-air action is concerned.
The winds of change are blowing on ground as well. Take the captains of the eight IPL franchises. At one end is 23-year-old Rishabh Pant, leading Delhi Capitals, and at the other end of the scale is 39-year-old grizzled veteran Mahendra Singh Dhoni, who will be trying to marshal his troops at Chennai Super Kings, possibly for one last hurrah.
For the record, this year’s IPL has three captains in their 20s – Pant, Sanju Samson (26) for Rajasthan Royals and KL Rahul (28) for Punjab Kings. The remaining five are all superstars – Virat Kohli (32) Royal Challengers Bangalore, Rohit Sharma (33) Mumbai Indians, Eoin Morgan (34) Kolkata Knight Riders, David Warner (34) Sunrisers Hyderabad and lastly Captain Cool Dhoni.
Who from this mix will hold aloft the IPL trophy on 30th May finals day? No surprises that the bookies give defending champions Mumbai Indians the best odds.
But sport has its own ways off upending predictions. Game on!
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