An IPL match in progress. Pic by Sankarshan (Flickr)
The Indian Premier League (IPL) match between Mumbai Indians and Pune Warriors yesterday was the 11th such to end in a last over dhamaka and the fourth to be decided by a single run. It is this kind of gusto and nail-biting finishes which will keep the tournament going – says a recent study by Prof Nivedita Sharma from Symbiosis Institute of International Business and Prof Arvind Sahay from The Indian Institute of Management Ahmedabad. The study titled ‘Indian Premier League (A): Building an International Sporting Brand points out that the “business model of IPL cannot depend on the television share of sponsorship in the long run” and it will have to be close matches as well as tons of team loyalty that will keep the sport alive. PaGaLGuY caught up with the professors to know more.
Prof Nivedita Sharma and Prof Arvind Sahay
What made you work on a subject like IPL?
Cricket has been and will continue to be a nationwide topic of interest a subject that everyone from the paanwallah to the kirana shop owner or the professional to the businessman or politician talk about. Looking at the extensive engagement of people and frenzy build around IPL (time when blog Fake IPL Player came into existence and gathered thousands of followers across the globe) we were curious to find out if the platform can leverage the same brand as English Premier League and National Football League in the coming years. The scale of ambition of IPL to become a global brand in cricket like EPL or NFL in their sports, was an added reason. Finally, the genius of the business model and the sheer marketing chutzpah were the icing on the cake. For the study we spoke to Harsha Bhogle, CEO of IPL Sundar Raman, assitant vice president of Delhi Dare Devils Vinod Bisht , CEO of Kokata Knight Riders (KKR) Venky Mysore and Director Media and Operation of KKR Joy Bhattacharya and secondary data.
Is IPL slowly sinking? This year the hoopla is even lesser.
For IPL 1, 2 and 3 average TVR rating were quite similar 4.8, 4.2 and 4.6. The ratings actually dipped in IPL 4 3.5. There were 10 teams playing 74 matches wherein, four teams fell behind very quickly making the middle and latter part of the match very dragging and stagnant. And of course, viewers had the World Cup fatigue as well. It was all very closely packed. This year the first weeks TVR is 3.76 lesser as compared to 4 in 2011. But good matches are being played and in fact the reach is higher comparatively. The loud opening made people again remember IPL and with options like booking online and actually locate a seating area based on the ticket price (ranging somewhere between 330-5000) people are looking are actually looking forward and the coming weeks can only give a right picture. Even if we are able to manage the same ratings as last season, IPL as a brand is doing well.
Few things that put-off fans is not being able to follow a team, for someone who was following KKR and was happy that Dada was playing from that team is now unable to relate in the same way with the team as his team player is now representing Pune Warriors. We need to condition the fans to follow the teams and not the players. The strength of a brand and a sports franchise is its staying power. IPL will probably go through a lull before it stabilises and builds for the longer term after the initial froth clears (which it is doing now). As incomes levels rise in the country and people have more discretionary income and leisure time, the need for more entertainment and sports options will rise. IPL is perfectly positioned to deliver so long as it can keep the sport clean and the matches interesting.
Your study spoke about extending duration of the tournament. But there is already fatigue?
The reasoning for extending the duration is as mentioned above – we need to build the affinity towards the teams I belong to KKR or Delhi Daredevils. A constant interaction if the duration is extended will increase. People will be more exposed to IPL and would not just look at it as an entertainment that takes place for 2-3 months. The research says the constant interaction and increased frequency of usage of the brand results in developing emotional connect with the brand and thats what we need to do with IPL.
For English Premier League (EPL), the tournament runs from August to May with each team playing 38 matches each; EPL holds 380 matches in a season. These matches are usually scheduled over the weekends except for a few that are played in the evening on the weekdays. National Football League comprises 32 teams split equally between the National Football Conference and the American Football Conference. The playing season lasts from August through to the last week of January (about 17 weeks). Within each conference, each team plays 14 games. Six teams from each conference play in a knock out play-off and the winners of the two conferences meet each other in the SuperBowl (since 1967) for the right to be called the champion in that year.
IPL as a brand is in the ‘forefront’ of the mind of the fan and consumer for only two months. When we say that there needs to be an extension of the duration of engagement, we are not necessarily talking about extending the duration of the tournament we are saying that IPL needs to find ways and means to remain on the mind of the consumer fan as EPL and NFL are for much longer periods of time where they are built into the fabric of national life.
Something needs to be done to revive energy?
The game format is perfect a 3 hour capsule of cricket and entertainment for the sports fan and family it is positioned in a similar manner as the English Premier League and the National Football League short enough to be engaging and long enough to fill a substantial part of my time over the summer vacation in India. Please note that other sports leagues (hockey, boxing, etc) are also starting and receiving a good response. On one hand they may be competition to IPL; on the other hand they are also a confirmation of the potential demand for something like IPL. Ultimately, the business model will survive if there are sufficient viewers in the stadium and on TV hence the importance of building a fan base. The teams are sparing no effort to build the fan base; we have documented some of these efforts in the case. The association with celebrities helps. Closely fought games will help further which is why it is important for the teams to evenly balanced and unlike the EPL, the IPL is configured to keep the teams more evenly balanced than not.
There are teams that are doing things on their own?
Yes, take for instance Kolkata Knight Riders. Star behind the brand – Shah Rukh Khan created a connect with the team at the first go; Indians love cricket and now their favorite Bollywood star is associated with an IPL team. Sourav Ganguly was another star in the team, despite not playing national cricket at that time Dada has a big fan following. In order to have a strong brand, an equally strong fan base is needed. KKR has an initiative called the Knights Club. It has a small fee, and members get some benefit, such as discounts on tickets, some merchandise, autographed shirt, an opportunity to get invited to an event that has players, etc. Along with this KKR is contemplating on a co-branded credit card with a tie up with particular vendors where the card owner may get a higher rebate, for example, on purchase of Nokia product with the card. KKR also has initiatives on licensing and selling the team merchandise at multiple price points and multiple touch points. The price of an official team jersey is Rs 2000, fans could buy a bracelet for R. 40 and there is also a Rs 300-worth polo t-shirt.
KKR created Facebook (FB) and Twitter page and in December 2010 the FB community was about 14000; by June 2011 it was 400,000, it was growing at the rate of 6000 per day. The community at this point does not necessarily satisfy all the requirements of a fan. What keeps them there on the site is the content on the page and the conversations relating to the page and KKR. These are virtual footfalls in a way and the onus is on the franchisee to keep them interested and then over a period of time they become sticky and as they become increasingly sticky then they are becoming fans. KKR has plans to play exhibition games to increase awareness and excitement and create new communities This is helping KKR to keep burning the fires through the rest of the year.
What should The Board of Control for Cricket in India’s role be? At the moment, it’s only seen as a milking cow?
This is the one weak area for IPL. Unlike other games, cricket had presently got three formats. The BCCI needs to display strategic vision on which format to support and why. Long term, whether we like it or not, test cricket is a dodo (at most a very niche game) and even the ODI format will not survive for very long. In a time-starved world and a world where the attention spans of the sports fan does not extend beyond a few hours, the T20 format is the best format of cricket for the future nothwithstanding tradition and what the purists might say. It is here that BCCI needs to take a call; needs to show leadership. The challenges are large. Cricket is the only game internationally where so far, players spend more time on national duty than on games for the club. (In contrast, in soccer, basketball, etc. players spend more than 80 percent of the entire year in playing for their club.)
From another context, people make comparisons with what happens elsewhere in the world. So IPL has to ensure the same level of facilities. For instance, in the new stadiums, the corporate boxes are the best places to watch it the match from. However, it was debatable whether the rest of the stadium provided a minimum standard of comfort and facilities that viewers expected.
Would Indian Cricket League (ICL) have also survived had it got proper backing at the right time?
It is possible that ICL with better funding and political connections may have survived and prospered but this is counterfactual that we will never know the answer to and therefore, conjecturing about it does not add much value.