MUMBAI: With Star Sports broadcasting the VIVO Indian Premier League for the first time ever this season, they certainly did not wish to let go off this opportunity to rebrand the tournament in a way which the fans had never experienced before.
For starters, Star had announced that the tournament will be broadcast live in 6 different languages with 7 dedicated feeds in English, Hindi, Tamil, Telugu, Kannada and Bengali that target a reach of 700 million fans across television and their digital platform, Hotstar by the time the curtains come down on the tournament’s eleventh season.
As you walk across their sprawling office in Mumbai, there are 12 studios spread across 6000 square feet. Ten of these are solely dedicated for the purpose of broadcasting the IPL.
But enter the main studio and there lies the set of ‘The Dugout’. It is a show conceptualized and curated by Star Sports for every cricket fan who tunes into Star Sports Select 1 or Star Sports Select HD 1. On their digital platform, Hotstar, it can be seen and clicked on in the language options during the live feed. Star claims to have deliberately done this, marketing it as virtually the ‘cricketing language’ which has got to be at par with English and Hindi for instance.
It is a gift for those fans who want to stay ahead of the game and aren’t happy with IPL being purely entertainment. As a testamant to this philosophy, there are no commercial breaks in between overs except the Timeout and the end of the innings. Instead, during these breaks lies the speciality of the show. The experts have to be alert and on their toes, spontaneously discussing about the present state of the game and what to expect next.
Cricket can be a complex game with several facets to it. As a result, it calls for deeper analysis, which also means that there is enough room for different perspectives. Star was quick to realize this and at the core of their operations has been the true blue cricket fan. The Dugout is a perfect amalgamation of the two, which makes the fan belong as an integral part of the game and not just an ordinary viewer.
And it has worked. According to a Broadcast Audience Research Council India (BARC) report, Select Dugout has contributed to 17% of the IPL’s total reach of 556 million within the first 5 weeks of the competition. Star India confirms that the exclusive feed itself has had a reach of 64.3 million, which is the highest ever for any live event telecast on Star Sports Select channels.
The show features 3-4 cricketing experts every game commentating and debating about the aspects of a live cricket match in the form of a conversation that makes the match a story to be heard and followed. Star has hired 16 experts from around the world, many who have not only been legends of the game, but have been involved in the T20 format enough to understand its nuances. Anil Kumble, Dean Jones, Michael Vaughan, Michael Clarke and Kevin Pietersen are some of the big names to have featured in it this season.
Fans also get the opportunity to see a demonstration by an expert of a player batting and bowling as well as a captain having field placements. You won’t be surprised to see a Graeme Smith trying to ape his former South African teammate and Royal Challengers Bangalore’s star batsman, AB de Villiers on a pitch backed by augmented reality (AR).
However, the only criticism ‘The Dugout’ has faced is of its analytical and technical nature. Gary Buschett, the executive producer of The Dugout agreed to an extent, yet believes that the concept isn’t just for the ‘purists’ but also is a great education for those youngsters or novices who do not know much about the game or want to learn more.
With experts imparting opinions and knowledge at the viewer’s convenience, Buschett expressed satisfaction at the response of the audiences especially on social media.
And Star India’s numbers back it up, as over 20,000 interactions have taken place between the fans and the experts through Q and A on Twitter, using the #SelectDugouthashtag. Some fans have also received personalized video responses to their questions. He confirmed that the Tweets selected are those which fit the bill perfectly with the expert talk.
Initiatives such as the #SelectDugoutPass aim to bring the fan closer to the game. A digital quiz was conducted last week on the social handle of Star Sports. The winners of the contest got an opportunity to meet the panel of the experts on the show and create VR content.
Coming from the UK, Buschett is sure that he hasn’t seen such a show in any other country before. Technologically, Channel 4 in UK and Channel 9 in Australia have been Star’s inspiration in having as many as 6 camera angles, one of them being a Hi45 camera which is fantastic for tactical advice in real time. He is confident that Star will set an example for the rest of the world in broadcasting cricket in the future, courtesy this show.
Australian bowling legend and one of the experts on the show, Brett Lee believes that it has made him think as if he was playing the match at the time and how would he want the field to be and bowl to the same batsman in the same situation. As a result, his commentary and analysis is more reactive, spontaneous and as a result, more real for the viewer to watch. According to Lee, this is what makes the show unique, otherwise commentators and experts can be easily found out these days since viewers are becoming smarter.
For Lee, ‘The Dugout’ symbolizes the way cricket is evolving, which involves a change in mind-set and becoming fast paced and flexible. As a result, the demonstrations and thoughts on player and team structures given by experts roleplaying a coach, player, captain, owner or a team strategist are vital.
Interestingly, he admits that it is not just the viewers, but players in the IPL such as Brendon McCullum, Michael Hussey and Shane Watson who have watched the show as well to get different ideas and have given him a positive feedback for the same.
Ultimately, Lee opines that cricket has got to entertain and excite stakeholders otherwise there is something wrong with it. ‘The Dugout’ seems to have certainly played its role so far in the very first season of its inception.
Two questions now remain – Will other T20 competitions or cricketing nations follow suit? And will other sports in India such as Kabaddi, Tennis or Football be broadcast with a similar concept? Time will tell.
