KOCHI: Badminton is the flavour of the season, thanks to the star-studded Celebrity Badminton League (CBL). CBL, a new league that brings together sports and entertainment launched in Chennai in January 2016 was masterminded by Hemachandran, who is its founder CEO. He is also the founder CEO of Brand Avatar, an event and branding company which has created successful properties like Global Mobile Apps Summit and Awards, Fashion Premier Week. Kochi Express talks to Hemachandran about CBL, his plans on promoting it and what sets it apart.
How did you hit upon the idea of Celebrity Badminton League?
Hemachandran: We wanted to tap into the market of ‘sportainment’ - the bringing together of sports and entertainment. Its a 4 billion dollar industry already and entertainment is a 260 billion dollar industry. The market has further increased as youngsters want to engage themselves in arenas other than academics. After cricket, badminton has more viewers in the country. The feat of P V Sindhu at the Olympics have given it a further spur, but we had started the work on CBL since January 2016. CBL has the same business model of IPL or ISL.
Why did you focus on celebrities and not fledgling badminton players?
We wanted to create a platform for celebrities and if we had focused on players, we would miss the viewers. CBL is for people who want see what their favourite celebrity is doing. But we have plans for the grass-root level players who are aspirants. We have a parallel league for aspiring players as well.
What would set the CBL apart from other such leagues?
Badminton is one sport where women celebrities can perform. In other celebrity leagues women are either motivators or brand ambassadors. Another important aspect is that we give importance to entertainment. So in that sense pure badminton or entertainment enthusiasts may feel let down. CBL is for those who enjoy badminton and entertainment in equal measure.