THE 2009 cricket season has been one replete with learnings for Indian cricket administrators. Well, at least to the discerning, there are are many lessons. I wonder whether the mandarins who run BCCI have realised that something is seriously amiss. Hope they have woken up to the fact that while cricket sells in India, it cannot be oversold. You cannot demand unearthly sums of money anymore. The Rs 30 million price tag that the BCCI attached to every Test, one dayer and T 20 game while hawking the Team jersey is now ridiculously incongruous. Nobody came forward to participate in the tender leaving the BCCI quite red faced. It is probably the first time in living memory that the BCCI faced such a predicament. But this was not a stand alone development.
It was the culmination of a year long journey which began with the T 20 World Cup in England.
I guess what the IPL and T 20 Champions League innovations have done is cannibalise advertising in a big way. By cornering large chunks of inventory, they have left little on the table for the rest of the year. Season 1 and 2 of IPL have shown that IPL brings in the spectators, advertisers and eyeballs not necessarily in that order.
When I say these two tournaments are leaving little on the table, I am referring to the rest of the tournaments where India is participating.Or for that matter other modes of sponsorship that the BCCI is looking at picking up from what is increasingly looking like a saturated market.
The new buzzword in the cricket marketer’s lexicon is RoI – return on investment. Is it worth my while to spend X amount of money on a cricket property? Am I getting maximum bang for my buck? When questions are asked about the most robust vehicle in the marketing universe, it is time to do some serious introspection. ESPN Star Sports unfortunately has got it in the neck three times in a row this year. And all in a short span of a couple of months. T 20 World Cup saw India being kayoed in double quick time, the same thing happened in the Champions Trophy and then came the latest show in town – T 20 Champions League. Where the result was the same. Three Indian clubs ending up as also rans. ESS was smart enough to pre book advertisements which must have proved to be a life saver. The ratings for all three events were a damp squib. It proved very clearly that multilateral events where India is knocked out earlier don’t pay in spades at all.
Only bilateral events featuring India with no fear of an early knock out work. This was amplified by the recent India versus Australia one day series which really brought in the ratings like never before. The fact that the majority of the games were day and night affairs helped to a great extent. As did the close finishes. This definitely constituted learning number one.
India needs to be in the mix, if you want ratings and advertiser rush. This is imperative. So while pre bookings may have worked for ESS for instance this year, starting 2010, advertisers will be wary. The T 20 World Cup is to be held in the first half of next year in the West Indies. Nobody can predict the formbook, nor can anybody predict the winner. The T 20 World Cup will begin even as the IPL ends, leaving no room for anyone to manoeuvre. If India has the mettle to go all the way in the tournament, then so be it and ESS will reap a handsome dividend. But if India is eliminated, then there is hell to pay. Now let me dwell on scheduling. Think of the way the game’s administrators are killing the game. India is currently playing Sri Lanka in a three Test series, followed by two T 20s and then five one dayers. On January 2, we travel to Bangladesh for a two Test series and a tri series featuring the host and Sri Lanka. Immediately after this South Africa come to India for a three Test and five one day series. Before you can say ICC, Indian players will be participating in the IPL 3.0 followed by the T 20 World Cup which begins on April 30, 2010. Marketers have learnt their lesson, it is time administrators do so too. The nexus between broadcasters and cricket boards is now seemingly out in the open.
Too much cricket is jangling everyone’s nerves. In many ways it is akin to cutting your nose to spite your own face. Look at the recent Pakistan versus New Zealand Test match. It was closely fought, a fascinating game which see-sawed right till the end. ICC needs to take the game by the scruff of the neck and leave its indelible imprint on it. It should brook no interference from the money obsessed Indian cricket board. But it cannot. For the simple reason that the epicentre of global cricket economics is defintely India. Look at the ICC global sponsors for their premier events, just about everyone has an active Indian connection. By giving in to the Indian cricket board’s innovations – IPL and CL T 20 – the ICC is doing more damage than good to the floundering global cricket economy. Lalit Modi and company need to be complimented for bringing these innovations, but these tourneys have to be now made part of the ICC FTP. It is an either or situation, otherwise marketers will be scurrying for cover. Several more of the BCCI’s contracts come up for renewal shortly. Will they meet the same fate as the Team jersey? The board should not get greedy. We saw this being thrown into stark relief for the first time when the BCCI re-negotiated with MSM/WSG for the IPL telecast rights. Now by asking for Rs 30 million per game, it has shown avarice of a singular kind.
If things carry on this way, many broadcasters will be ruined because the cost of acquisition of the properties is humungous. The dominant question of return on investment is going to be the big theme from hereon. I don’t think companies will be making a beeline for cricket properties in 2010. They will do so only if they are convinced that they are getting a bang for their buck. Circa 2009 has been a wake up call for marketers and companies associated with cricket. There will be a lot of soul searching amongst some of the advertisers who got saddled with time slots they bought on T20 WC, T 20 CL and Champions Trophy. An equal number must be celebrating. I am referring to those who decided to back the ongoing international bilaterals at home. That is the way forward. Oh, but wait, there is also the timing factor. IPL will sell because it has been designed for the family audience as they are ensconced at home in the evenings. Here again, I don’t know whether the viewers will have the appetite for 90 odd matches beginning season 4 due to the addition of two new teams.
We are walking a razor’s edge here. Let us not kill the game that we love and adore so much. A game that brings us so much joy and entertainment. Short term gains for long term bankruptcy. That is certainly not the way to go.
