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Tag: Indian Premier League

  • IPL 2020 sees further extension as lockdown extends

    IPL 2020 sees further extension as lockdown extends

    MUMBAI: The thirteenth edition of the Indian Premier League has been postponed further with the central government extending the 21-day nation-wide lockdown amid COVID-19 till 3 May. The cash-rich domestic event was scheduled to happen from 29 March but was suspended till 15 April.

    According to a news report of India Today, sources said that the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) will only be able to review the situation post 3 May when the government would be in a position to come out with further guidelines amid COVID-19 crisis. The richest cricket body is yet to come out with an official communique on the further postponement of the tournament.

    This is for the first time in the history of IPL that the game has been postponed. As speculated, the other windows that are been most talked about are August or October. However, for that, the whole cricketing calendar of the year has to be rejigged.

    Meanwhile, sources speaking to ANI have also pointed out that the IPL is likely to be postponed for an indefinite time period. “Since lockdown has been extended, we have to postpone the IPL for the time being, the decision will be intimated, we will discuss the matter later today,” sources within BCCI told ANI.

    Prime minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday extended the 21-day lockdown period, which was slated to end on 14 April, for three more weeks approximately till 3 May amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

    “Practically speaking, when life has come to a standstill everywhere in the world, where does sport have a future in this,” BCCI president Saurav Ganguly had told the New Indian Express.

    Estimates are that close to $1.5 billion is riding behind the IPL in terms of advertising, sponsorships and ticket sales. Global advisory Duff
    & Phelps estimates a huge loss of at least $1000 million if IPL gets cancelled due to the pandemic.

  • Cricket veterans find October most suitable for IPL 2020

    Cricket veterans find October most suitable for IPL 2020

    MUMBAI: The Indian Premier League (IPL) has been the talk of the town ever since it was cancelled for the first time on account of the COVID-19 pandemic. Cricket enthusiasts and all the stakeholders, including the brands associated with the league, are eagerly awaiting an outcome: postponement or an outright cancellation. Cricket veterans Harbhajan Singh, Ashish Nehra and Sanjay Manjrekar joined the conversation on the IPL’s future during a talk show, hosted by Jatin Sapru, called Cricket Connected, on Star Sports channels and Hotstar.

    Discussing the possibilities about the IPL, the cricket legends, sharing a common view, hoped that India’s biggest domestic tournament will be held in the near future. For the first time ever, the Board of Control for Cricket in India has suspended the sport-entertainment event till 15 April. However, it seems like the lockdown is likely to continue and the chances of holding the IPL anytime soon look bleak.

    As COVID-19 has forced to scrap almost all sporting events across the globe, sports broadcasters are trying alternatives. Cricket Connected is one of the by-products of Star India’s strategy to lure the sports enthusiasts to its channels. The new show will have both English and Hindi versions and will be shown every Saturday at 7 pm, starting from 4 April.

    The players discussed three windows: May-June, August-October. With the rising cases in India, the first seems most unlikely. The panel considered the second and third option via video call discussions.

    These possibilities can only be considered if there are changes in the cricket calendar of the year. In August, Caribbean Premier League, Asia Cup and England home seasons are scheduled, whereas the International Cricket Council T20 World Cup is scheduled in October.  

    “If choices are given, October would be more preferable than August, as the month falls under the rainy season,” former pacer Ashish Nehra, who last played for Sunrisers Hyderabad in 2016, pointed out. “Also, if things normalise by June-July, a buffer of two-three months would help the tournament to regain momentum and settle the dust of the virus completely and cricket enthusiasts will also be seen on the stands cheering for their respective teams.”

    It has also been speculated that the stakeholders are thinking of holding a close-door stadium tournament. In this regard, Chennai Super Kings spinner Harbhajan Singh said: “As a player, I’ll definitely want the audience to be present on stands, but under the given circumstances, I don’t mind playing without spectators.”

    “There’s a possibility that we most likely will miss the vibe while playing closed-door matches as the audience builds enthusiasm and excitement for the game. They are important stakeholders during a live sporting event,” Singh said in his comment.

    Singh was replying to a Twitter user’s question, who asked about the closed-door option with hashtag #AskStar way before the chat show was scheduled.

    Comparing the IPL’s postponement with the tenth standard exam, the batsmen-turned-commentator Sanjay Manjrekar believes that it won’t be cancelled, just postponed till COVID-19 ends. He said: “The moment we get clearance from all the authorities, IPL should kick-start the economy, as there are many people making a livelihood out of it.”

    Estimates are that close to $1.5 billion is riding behind the IPL in terms of advertising, sponsorships and ticket sales. Global advisory Duff & Phelps estimates a huge loss of at least Rs 1000 crore if IPL gets cancelled due to the pandemic.

  • Sports viewership grows by over 90% in the last 4 years: BARC report

    Sports viewership grows by over 90% in the last 4 years: BARC report

    MUMBAI: The sports viewership on television, with around 90 per cent of growth, has gained most in the last four years among other genres, says Broadcast Audience Research Council (BARC) India in the yearly report of 2019. It was mostly dominated by cricketing events such as IPL and the world cup.

    According to the report, the 2109 International Cricket Council's Cricket World Cup match between India and Pakistan was the most-watched game between 2016-2019 garnering over 29 billion viewing minutes. The Indo-Pak match was one of the five events in 2019 that had garnered maximum eyeballs on the television screens.

    “Within sports, cricket retains its numero uno position; live cricket pockets 58 percent of viewing minutes of sports broadcasts. Beyond cricket, the most-watched sports on TV are kabaddi, wrestling and football, and combined they corner 85 per cent on viewing minutes,” the BARC 2019 report reads.

    Similarly, 2019 was an important year with respect to sports, especially cricket. The first-ever Pink Ball Test Match played in India was also a big draw; day one of the test match was viewed by 43 million people and clocked 2 billion viewing minutes.

    The report also mentions that more than 70 per cent of rural India watches the kabaddi tournament, whereas at least 52 per cent of urban India gets entertained by the wrestling matches. Similarly, football gets more than half of its viewership from Kerala, Assam, Sikkim, and West Bengal.

    India’s biggest domestic cricketing event, Indian Premier League, has only got bigger in 2019 since its inception in 2008. “In 2019, 424 million viewers, which is 51 per cent of total TV viewing population, watched live matches of IPL 12. It also showed that an additional 9 per cent watched tournament in restaurants, pubs and other such OOH locations.”

    The top ten advertisers for IPL 12 were Vivo V15/V15 Pro, Mobile Premier League, Swiggy, Bjyus, Fogg, Vimal Elaichi Pan Masala, and Sprite, among others. However, this year, the IPL’s thirteenth edition seems to be in doldrums amid the rising concern of the novel coronavirus.

    The 2019 marquee event ICC cricket world cup had pulled at least 509 million viewers at home and out-of-home, as 10 nations battled for supremacy. And, at least 2 million seconds of advertising featuring 192 brands played out over the tournament’s broadcast.

    The tournament was in England and Wales, and was supported by top advertisers such as BJYUS, Disney, Puro Heathy Salt, Fogg, Phonepee, Kamla Pasand Pan Masala, Nissan Kicks, and Vimal Elaichi Pan Masala, among others. This sports event was only viewed the most till the time India was in the tournament. As India was out of the race in the semis, the viewership declined.

    Despite viewership growth in the last four years, the sports genre has been ranked in the last position with a mere 1 per cent of total advertising volumes. genres such as news, GEC, and movies continue to account for over three-fourth of total ad volumes in 2019.

    Similarly, ESP Properties, entertainment and sports division of GroupM India, in its report, had said that the overall sports sponsorship industry grew by 17 per cent to Rs 9000 crore, and for the first time ever, the on-ground sponsorship grew by 25 per cent to Rs 2000 crore.

  • BCCI chief uncertain about future of IPL amid Covid19 crisis

    BCCI chief uncertain about future of IPL amid Covid19 crisis

    MUMBAI: Board of Control for Cricket in India president Sourav Ganguly is uncertain about the future of the IPL tournament amid rising cases of the novel coronavirus in the nation.

    He told the Press Trust of India, “I can’t say anything at the moment. We are at the same place where we were on the day we postponed. Nothing has changed in the last 10 days. So, I don’t have an answer to it. Status quo remains.”

    Prime minister Narendra Modi during his address to the nation on Tuesday put the whole country under lockdown for the next 21 days, to curb the spread of the novel virus. He urged citizens to stay home and follow the shutdown religiously. The 21-day lockdown period completes on 15 April, the date to which the IPL has been suspended till.

    Ruling out any possibility of something being planned three or four months down the line, the BCCI chief says, “You can’t plan anything. The FTP is scheduled. It’s there and you can’t change the FTP. All around the world, cricket, and more so sports have stopped.”

    Estimates are that close to $1.5 billion is riding behind the IPL in terms of advertising, sponsorships and ticket sales. Moreover, Duff & Phelps, a global advisor that helps clients protect, restore and maximise value, has expected a loss for the tournament due to the coronavirus pandemic.

    In its IPL Brand Valuation Report 2019, it has considered two scenarios: 1) Truncated IPL with the number of matches reduced to half; 2) The entire IPL 13 season getting cancelled.

    The report says, “Under scenario one, the IPL ecosystem value estimated by the Duff and Phelps last year is expected to reduce by $200-350 million range (3-5 per cent). Whereas, in the second scenario IPL ecosystem value to reduce by $700-1,000 million range (around 10-15 per cent).”

    It will have to be seen how the suspension will impact the revenue potential of the league. And, how the BCCI will compensate telecast rights holder Star India for the loss of telecast days, if such a need does arise. It was expected that Star would raise close to Rs 3,000 crore this year through the IPL in terms of partnerships, sponsorships and air time deals.

  • IPL could see rev loss of upto $1000 mn due to COVID19

    IPL could see rev loss of upto $1000 mn due to COVID19

    MUMBAI: The postponement of Indian Premier League due to coronavirus pandemic will lead to a confirm loss in terms of revenue under two scenarios, according to a prediction by Duff and Phelps. In order to stop the spread of the virus in India, the BCCI has suspended IPL till 15 April.

    Duff & Phelps, a global advisor that helps clients protect, restore and maximise value, has undertaken a study to analyse the impact of COVID19 on the value of the IPL ecosystem. In its report IPL Brand Valuation Report 2019, it has considered two scenarios: 1) Truncated IPL with the number of matches reduced to half, a high possibility as per BCCI; 2) The entire IPL 13 season getting cancelled.

    The report says, “Under scenario one, the IPL ecosystem value estimated by the Duff and Phelps last year is expected to reduce by $200-350 million range (3-5 per cent). Whereas, in the second scenario IPL ecosystem value to reduce by $700-1,000 million range (around 10-15 per cent).”

    The global advisor on brand value says, “Our impact analysis has been carried out on the IPL ecosystem value calculated by Duff & Phelps last year, which was $6.8 billion in 2019. The analysis doesn’t reflect the current value of the IPL ecosystem, which would have been estimated after considering the factors available post completion of IPL 2020.”

    The report citing the first scenario says, “According to BCCI officials, in case the IPL season commences on 15 April, it will be truncated as more than 15 days would have been lost by that time. It predicted that in a truncated season, each team will play against the other only once, instead of the home & away format, thus reducing the number of league matches by half.”

    The report further adds, “Scenario one also gives two possibilities: one where the spectators are allowed inside the stadium and another where the matches are played behind closed doors, effectively impacting the in-stadia revenues including gate receipts and food and beverages.”

    “The second possibility in the first scenario is that it will have a negligible impact on IPL in terms of revenue, giving an upper hand to the official broadcaster. However, none of the stakeholders including the broadcasters prefer this option,” mentions the report. It further factors that the loss of revenue under this scenario will be low, as broadcast partners and sponsors will renegotiate the contracts based on the number of matches being played.

    Under the second scenario, Duff and Phelps have assumed the possibility of the entire IPL 13 getting cancelled, a high possibility if the current situation persists. This scenario will have a massive impact on the IPL ecosystem value, considering larger economic and financial consequences.

    The second scenario will also an economic impact due to the one year set back, where the global advisor anticipated that the sponsorship revenues might not grow at desired levels next year due to the current disruption.

  • Rohit Sharma joins fan banter around IPL in new campaign

    Rohit Sharma joins fan banter around IPL in new campaign

    MUMBAI: The thirteenth edition of the Indian Premier League is witnessing huge fan banter which inspired the #KhelBolega campaign, launched by Star Sports in tandem with BCCI recently. 

    One of the big conversation points amongst fans was that Rohit Sharma-led Mumbai Indians has only won the IPL in even number years. In response to banter, Rohit has now joined the conversation, putting an end to the odd or even conundrum.

    In a new TVC launched by Star Sports & BCCI, Mumbai Indians’ captain Rohit Sharma is seen talking to his superstitious Mama Ji (Uncle) about the 'odd-even' theory. The uncle in the TVC is constantly trying to change the odd-numbered things around Rohit and make them even-numbered. He explains to his uncle, it’s the 13th year of the IPL, and the number 13 is an odd number, hinting that there is nothing to be worried about.

    The four-time champions have one of the most vociferous fan bases, known to wear their emotions on their sleeves. The response of their dynamic captain has helped to quell the curiosity of the fans of the Mumbai Indians to a large extent that is now waiting for the 13th season of the IPL to commence.

  • IPL 2020 auction: Pat Cummins, Glen Maxwell top overseas buys; Piyush Chawla biggest Indian buy

    IPL 2020 auction: Pat Cummins, Glen Maxwell top overseas buys; Piyush Chawla biggest Indian buy

    MUMBAI: It was a day of records at the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2020 auctions in Kolkata on 19 December. When the hammer went down on the acquisition of Australian pacer Pat Cummins at Rs 15.5 crore by Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR), it announced a record for the highest price paid for a player in the league’s history. Compatriot Glen Maxwell was bought for Rs 10.75 crore by Kings XI Punjab (KXIP). The two were amongst the top foreign buys, while Indians player Piyush Chawla was picked by Chennai Super Kings (CSK) for Rs 6.75 crore.

    In the thirteenth season of IPL, 332 cricketers went under the hammer. The eight franchisees bagged players with an aim to balance their sides.

    The spotlight was on the English players- Jason Roy, Chris Woakes and Sam Curran and Eoin Morgan, South Africans player Chris Morris, Indians players- Piyush Chawla, Robin Uthappa and Jaydev Unadkat, Australian players- Alex Carrey, Glen Maxwell, Pat Cummins, Chris Lynn, Nathan Coulter Nile and Aaron Finch and Windies player Sheldon Cottrell.

    Here is the list of the players bought by the teams.

    Delhi Capitals

    Players bought: Jason Roy (Rs 1.5 crore), Chris Woakes (Rs 1.5 crore), Alex Carrey (Rs2.4 crore)

    Players retained: Shikhar Dhawan, Ajinkya Rahane, Prithvi Shaw, Shreyas Iyer, Rishabh Pant (wk), Axar Patel, Harshal Patel, R Ashwin, Amit Mishra, Sandeep Lamichhane, Kagiso Rabada, Ishant Sharma, Keemo Paul, Avesh Khan

    Total players in the squad: 17. No of open players slot:8 (6 domestic, 2 overseas). Purse left: Rs 22.45 crore.

     

    Chennai Super Kings (CSK)

    Players bought: Sam Curran (Rs 5.5 crore), Piyush Chawla (Rs 6.75 crore).

    Players retained: Shane Watson, Ambati Rayudu, Faf du Plessis, Suresh Raina, N Jagadeesan, M Vijay, Rituraj Gaikwad, MS Dhoni (wk), Dwayne Bravo, Ravindra Jadeja, Mitchell Santner, Monu Singh, Harbhajan Singh, Imran Tahir, Karn Sharma, Lungi Ngidi, Deepak Chahar, Shardul Thakur, KM Asif.

    Total players in the squad: 21. No of open players slot: 3 (2 domestic, 1 overseas). Purse left: Rs 2.35 crore.

     

    Kings XI Punjab

    Players bought: Glen Maxwell (Rs 10.75 crore), Sheldon Cottrell (Rs 8.5 crore), Deepak Hooda (Rs 50 lakh), Ishan Porel (Rs 20 lakh), Ravi Bishnoi (Rs 2 crore)

    Players retained: KL Rahul (wk), Chris Gayle, Mayank Agarwal, Karun Nair, Mandeep Singh, Nicholas Pooran (wk), Sarfaraz Khan, Murugan Ashwin, Mujeeb-ur-Rahman, K. Gowtham, J. Suchith, Harpreet Brar, Mohammed Shami, Hardus Viljoen, Arshdeep Singh, Darshan Nalkande.

    Total players in the squad: 21. No of open players slot: 6 (3 domestic, 3 overseas). Purse left: Rs 22.95 crore.

     

    Kolkata Knight Riders

    Players bought: Eoin Morgan (Rs 5.25 crore), Pat Cummins (Rs 15.5 crore), Rahul Tripathi (Rs 60 lakh), Varun Chakravarthy (Rs 4 crore).

    Players retained: Shubman Gill, Siddesh Lad, Andre Russell, Dinesh Karthik (wk), Rinku Singh, Nitish Rana, Sunil Narine, Kuldeep Yadav, Harry Gurney, Lockie Ferguson, Kamlesh Nagarkoti, Shivam Mavi, Prasidh Krishna, Sandeep Warrier.

    Total players in the squad: 18. No of open players slot: 7 (5 domestic, 2 overseas). Purse left: Rs 10.90 crore.

     

    Mumbai Indians

    Players bought: Chris Lynn (Rs 2 crore), Nathan Coulter Nile ( Rs 8 crore).

    Players retained: Rohit Sharma, Suryakumar Yadav, Quinton de Kock (wk), Aditya Tare (wk), Anmolpreet Singh, Kieron Pollard, Ishan Kishan (wk), Sherfane Rutherford, Hardik Pandya, Krunal Pandya, Rahul Chahar, Jayant Yadav, Anukul Roy, Jasprit Bumrah, Lasith Malinga, Trent Boult, Dhawal Kulkarni, Mitchell McClenaghan.

    Total players in the squad: 20. No of open players slot: 5 (5 domestic). Purse left: Rs 3.05 crore.

     

    Rajasthan Royals

    Players bought: Robin Uthappa (Rs 3 crore), Jaydev Unadkat (3 crore), Yasashvi Jaiswal (Rs 2.40 crore), Anuj Rawat (Rs 80 lakh), Kartik Tyagi (Rs 1.3 crore).

    Players retained: Jos Buttler (wk), Steve Smith, Sanju Samson (wk), Manan Vohra, Riyan Parag, Ben Stokes, Mahipal Lomror, Shashank Singh, Shreyas Gopal, Rahul Tewatia, Mayank Markande, Jofra Archer, Ankit Rajpoot, Varun Aaron.

    Total players in the squad: 19. No of open players slot: 7 (3 domestic, 4 overseas). Purse left: Rs 18.40 crore.

     

    Royal Challengers Bangalore

    Players bought: Aaron Finch ( Rs 4.40 crore), Chris Morris (Rs 10 crore)

    Players retained: Virat Kohli, AB de Villiers, Devdutt Padikkal, Parthiv Patel (wk), Gurkeerat Singh Mann, Moeen Ali, Shivam Dube, Yuzvendra Chahal, Washington Sundar, Pawan Negi, Umesh Yadav, Navdeep Saini, Mohammed Siraj.

    Total players in the squad: 15. No of open players slot: 10 (6 domestic, 4 overseas). Purse left: Rs 13.50 crore.

     

    Sunrisers Hyderabad

    Player sold: Virat Singh (Rs 1.9 crore), Priyam Garg (Rs 1.9 crore).

    Players retained: David Warner, Kane Williamson, Jonny Bairstow (wk), Manish Pandey, Sreevats Goswami (wk), Wriddhiman Saha (wk), Vijay Shankar, Mohammad Nabi, Abhishek Sharma, Rashid Khan, Shahbaz Nadeem, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Siddarth Kaul, Khaleel Ahmed, Sandeep Sharma, Basil Thampi, T. Natarajan, Billy Stanlake.

    Total players in the squad: 20. No of open players slot: 5 (3 domestic, 2 overseas). Purse left: Rs 13.2 crore.
  • Hotstar withdraws as an associate sponsor of IPL

    Hotstar withdraws as an associate sponsor of IPL

    MUMBAI: Hotstar, Star India's online streaming platform, has withdrawn as an associate sponsor of the Indian Premier League (IPL).

    A BCCI source told India Today that there was an exit clause in the deal and Hotstar chose to exercise it.  The deal was worth Rs 42 crores per year and IPL associate sponsorships are reported to be in the range of 40-80 crore rupees.

    The report further said that the move will however have no bearing on Hotstar's digital streaming rights. Although the media rights deal was seen as being an ambitious one, this year after the end of the IPL, Hotstar claimed to have crossed 300 million viewers and to have registered a 74 per cent increase in watch-time compared with last year's IPL.

    Star India had bagged a five year IPL media rights deal for television and digital in 2017 worth 16347.5 crores.

  • Kansai Nerolac strengthens IPL association with three T20 franchisees

    Kansai Nerolac strengthens IPL association with three T20 franchisees

    MUMBAI: Kansai Nerolac Paints Ltd (KNPL), one of the leading paint companies in India and pioneers in ‘Healthy Home Paints’ has announced its association with Rajasthan Royals (RR) and Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) while continuing its association with Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) for the ongoing season of Indian Premier League (IPL).

    Nerolac has been associated with cricket leagues and championships for a long time and has been associated with T20 franchisees since 2016, leveraging the sports platform for the visibility and to drive skill building as an agenda amongst unemployed youth and encouraging them to take up painting as a profession.

    This season Nerolac will introduce two more initiatives apart from skill development; a consumer app and curated designs through “walk to wall” which would enhance consumers experience while painting their house.

    Speaking on the association Kansai Nerolac Paints Ltd executive director Anuj Jain said, “T20 offers the highest penetration across India that creates a huge opportunity for brands to connect and introduce initiatives.  In addition to our continuous association with the league through skill development initiatives, we are also excited to announce our new offerings – A consumer app & a unique design concept ‘Walk to Wall’, that aims to benefit and create transforming experience for people with our healthy home paints range. We wish the players for this season to continue with their zestful performance.”

    Commenting on the announcement, Sunrisers Hyderabad CEO K Shanmugham said, “We are delighted to have Nerolac as our principal sponsor for the third year in a row. Sunrisers Hyderabad is currently in its best form and we expect an extraordinary IPL season this time. We look forward to renewed support from Nerolac as we bid to win the title after a solid show last season."

    Speaking of the association, Rajasthan Royals executive chairman Ranjit Barthakur said, “We are delighted to associate with Nerolac, the brand that focuses on building long-lasting relationships, a brand value that resonates well with the Royals. We look forward to deepening this relationship in the coming years building a great bond with our fans.”

    Royal Challengers Bangalore chairman Sanjeev Churiwala stated, “We are happy to be associating with Kansai Nerolac Paints. At RCB we always look forward to partnerships that increase value and merit to the brand, and through this association, we wish to add more colors for our fans and players that will enhance our brand presence at one of the most watched leagues in the country.”

  • Tata Sky, Airtel Digital TV offer free Star Sports channels for IPL

    Tata Sky, Airtel Digital TV offer free Star Sports channels for IPL

    MUMBAI: In order to cash in on the ongoing Indian Premier League (IPL) fanfare, two DTH operators, Tata Sky and Airtel Digital TV, have decided to provide free access to all matches of 2019.

    In a message, it was revealed that from 23 March to 19 May Star Sports 1 Hindi, Star Sports 1 Tamil, Star Sports 1 Telugu, Star Sports 1 Kannada and Star Sports 1 Bangla will be available without any extra charge to Tata Sky users.

    Airtel Digital TV is also giving its users, both old and new, free access to the above channels and also Star Sports 1, Star Sports 1 HD and Star Sports 1 Hindi HD. New subscribers, however, as per reports, will only get access to Star Sports 1 and Star Sports 1 Hindi till 19 May.

    It is quite likely that with two big DTH operators having named such lucrative packs, Dish TV will follow suit.

    Airtel Digital TV, Tata Sky and Dish TV have already created special packs for IPL wherein Star Sports channels are embedded into other genre packs such as Hindi, Marathi and kids.