A GLAMOUR-filled opening ceremony lacking the X factor, a boring opening match between the top two teams in all aspects, unsold inventory with the broadcaster Max, and predictions of lower TV ratings for Season V are signs that the bosses in BCCI might want to seriously consider before the IPL’s downward slide reaches an unstoppable pace.
All the machinations within the BCCI during the previous 2-3 seasons to create “first among equals” is now combining to produce a situation where the successful IPL model itself is in question. As what should have been a great battle among nine equally powerful teams with one or two underdogs has reached a stage where there are three powerful teams, three okay teams and three mediocre ones. This has created a huge imbalance in the way each match is going to be perceived by viewers and fans, thus directly affecting the broadcaster and the sponsors.
While the general perception has been that the disastrous performance of the Indian cricket team during the one year after their World Cup win would not affect interest in the IPL, it is far away from the truth. The sheer lack of quality entertainment for the masses in the country ensures that even a half-good product can succeed. And the IPL was definitely much better than average and its success could be gauged from the fact that for the seasons after the inaugural one even Bollywood shut shop during the two months.
However, if it takes a team to build a success story, it just takes a few powerful interested parties to destroy it. Unlike any other product where the quality and price points make a winning combination for the consumer, a sports property derives its value from the consumers who are investing a few hours to watch a great contest. The moment the consumer can pick a winner of a match even before it starts, the plot is lost. Ask Subhash Chandra who created a league (Indian Cricket League) where all teams belonged to him. Whichever won or lost, he was always the winner. Apart from other facts that the ICL consisted of semi-retired cricketers and it did not get official sanction, the basic fundamental of “no contest” let the ICL down and consigned it to a natural death.
The IPL, if no course correction is done soon, is heading the ICL way. If it ends up as a league where either the Srinivasan-owned Chennai team or the Reliance-owned Mumbai team are going to be the winners, it is just a matter of time where there won’t be many viewers other than the extended families and friends of the super-owners of these teams. The remaining teams will just end up making the numbers.
It is a return to the Roman Games, the only difference being there the king paid the expenses for watching the gladiators fight hard to live another day. In the modern world the corporates have to pay and they are not going to be very happy shelling out money from their tight marketing budgets to watch the kings and their entourages have fun-filled evenings watching gladiators who have nothing to lose go through the motions.
BCCI head honchos should soon start thinking of changing the course, or it won’t be long before everyone follows the Pepsi route and changes the game!
