Star India dishing out a jaw-dropping sum for the broadcast rights of the IPL confirms the league’s status as one of the premier global sporting events. Spot-fixing, betting and a judicial probe that turned the establishment upside down notwithstanding, the league has commanded figures that have few parallels. Puritans may continue to frown, but team owners, players, cricket boards and the public have embraced it. The meteoric rise in title sponsorship—Vivo agreed to `2,199 crore for five years after Pepsi pulled out in the wake of controversies—and viewership reaffirmed this before Star’s bid of over $2.5 billion put it beyond doubt.
This also suggests some aggressive marketing strategies will be seen in Star’s bid to recover this huge amount. They wanted this by any means and going by what their bosses said after securing the deal, they might have bet their bottom dollar on it. Veterans of the game of beaming sports, they are expected to innovate to maximise the brand’s already soaring value. Ad rates multiplying appears to be a foregone conclusion, while there are also talks of viewership fees increasing. An additional `10 per month for two months to watch the IPL may not hurt the viewer, but it can add up to a substantial sum for a company out to net whatever it can. The growing digital platform should figure in its plans prominently and who knows, may be there lies the secret to achieving the unachievable.
Also unmistakable in this tale of records tumbling is Star’s monopoly over sports broadcast in India. In addition to bilateral cricket on Indian soil and ICC events like the World Cup, it now holds the rights for every league in the country—cricket, football, table tennis, badminton, kabaddi, hockey and tennis (the last two suspended for the moment, by their organisers). In countries like England, the rules prohibit one company from owning everything when it comes to sports broadcast rights. It’s early days in India and once the hangover of the gigantic figure is gone, it will be time to examine the merits and demerits, if any, of this phenomenon.