India’s seamless switch from the World Cup victory to pop-rock cricket, the India Premier League, has all the makings of another spectacular innings. The only party-pooper seems to be the tussle between the Board of Control for Cricket India (BCCI) and Sri Lanka Cricket, which wants the Lankans back for practice sessions for international matches. In this clash between flag and IPL, as in other similar ones, the bet is that the BCCI-controlled IPL will win — almost uncontested.
The reason is simple — it’s BCCI’s unbridled clout in the cricketing fraternity. It is the richest cricketing body in the world backed by the greatest number of cricket viewers on home turf, making it a near monopolistic force. It has more heft than any rival to call the shots for cricketing events that will help the smaller, less- endowed cricket boards to keep themselves financially sound.
So cricket boards, whose revenues pale in comparison to that of BCCI, which is pretty much every other cricket board in the world, are at the mercy of BCCI. They depend on it for that much watched tee-off between India and their home team. The World Cup final between India and Sri Lanka was watched by nearly 68 million viewers.
In short, when BBCI decides to stand in the shade and toss a coin over whether its team should play another side, it can cause a lot of people to knot their brows in the opposing camp.
BBCI’S lever, driven by the Indian audience’s mad love of the sport, can only be rivaled by Bernie Ecclestone’s supremacy in Formula 1. Ecclestone’s firm controls the TV rights to the racing sport, and organises and manages the event — it got 527 million viewers worldwide in 2010.
BCCI, of course, doesn’t control the television rights for matches held outside its home turf, but there is little getting away from the fact that any tour involving the Indian team is guaranteed astronomical eyeballs when compared to other nations.
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In the subcontinent, where you just can’t get enough cricket ever, there is much to be said about an India-Sri Lanka series, or an India-Pakistan series. In matches such as these, more so those rivaling Pakistan, the eye-popping numbers of viewers, the nationalism on both sides and the nail biting fight-to-the-finish reaches operatic levels.
Indians will skive from work, plan holidays around big cricket matches and buy new TV sets. Bollywood stars, cheering first ladies of Indian industry and cricket wags unite for the game. BCCI its seems generated an income of Rs 847 crore in fiscal 2010 from this single sport and the ball sent into orbit for the winning six by MS Dhoni, at the World Cup, got a bid of more than Rs 64 lakhs.
This cricket frenzy means TV companies that broadcast the sport know that matches involving India are synonymous with big advertising moments, for which companies are willing to fork a hefty fee. A 10-second ad apparently cost Rs 24 lakhs during the World Cup final match, while the India-Pakistan semi-final wasn’t far behind with rates estimated at about Rs 17 lakhs for a similar slot.
That aside, BCCI’s temperament and ability to flex its muscle and hold on to its hegemony is steely. It hasn’t even spared those at home. We all know it snuffed out the Indian Cricket League, which would have rivaled IPL. While ICL was established before IPL, it folded up in 2009, primarily because it lacked the support of BCCI.
Its Caponesque clout, while dangerous, belongs to the masses. The trouble starts when it starts to imagine that as its own.
Anjana Menon is executive editor, NDTV Profit.