Game strike

After an unimpressive debut, Premier Hockey League is hoping its second season will fare a little better.

January 2004: An anthem composed by music director Sandesh Shandilya and rendered by Sonu Nigam resonates in Hyderabad's

Gacchibawli complex. The idea is to announce the first round of activities undertaken by Premier Hockey League (PHL). The organisation started by

ESPN-Star Sports and Indian Hockey Federation (IHF) is aiming to breathe glamour to revive audience interest in India's national game. Ironically, the stadium is empty, the crowd attendance negligible and even the likes of Sachin Tendulkar, Harsha Bhogle and Bollywood stars Bobby and Sunny Deol have failed to lure the crowds. In a nutshell, the strategy appears to have fallen flat. Why? Simple, because hockey is not cricket.

Cut to November 2005 when PHL, undeterred by the initial, bleak response announced its second phase of activities, to kick off on January 5, 2006 in Chandigarh. New floodlights have been installed at the National Hockey Stadium and with two Punjab teams participating, the organisers are hoping to garner better response.

With innovation being the name of the game, PHL is attempting to bring in more changes to the traditional game of hockey. While last year saw the introduction of time-outs, four quarters in a game and reduction of players in extra-time, this time we will see the involvement of a third umpire for closely contested decisions. With a total of 10 teams divided into two tiers, the prize money also looks attractive.

Tier I champions will take home Rs 30 lakh, while runners up will be awarded Rs 10 lakh. Meanwhile, Tier II champions will take back Rs 4 lakh and runners up will get Rs 2 lakh.

"We will continue to rope in celebrities keeping their regional backgrounds in mind," says a spokesperson, explaining that teams like Maratha Warriors, Sher-e-Jalandhar and Hyderabad Sultans will continue to be promoted by Tendulkar, the Deol brothers and Bhogle respectively.

ESPN STAR has a 10-year deal with IHF and is leaving no stone unturned to revive the game. Says a company spokesperson, "We are happy with the response from PHL. Our idea is to look at a long-term perspective since we're not looking for short-term gains."

That explains why the company has launched the high-decibel marketing campaign to promote PHL across the country, especially in Punjab. It has also tied up with Siti Cable and

Future Cable Network (FCN) to promote the league. Apart from this, it will also organise PHL

Junior, an inter-school hockey championship, in Chandigarh and Jalandhar.

While the company is tight-lipped about the number of advertisers on board, the event, according to sources, is generating better interest this time.

The advertising spends this time round are higher as compared to the previous event, and with sponsors like Western Union Bank on board this year, hockey might just have a promising look. But will the audiences agree?