IPL-4 gets off to a slow start

Indian skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni had last week warned that the rigorous cricketing schedule is likely to take its toll on the players. If viewer ratings are an indication, the fans too are showing signs of fatigue. The fourth edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL), which began just six days after the World Cup, has failed to attract eyeballs during its initial games.

As if the vacant seats at stadiums aren’t a dampener, the average viewership rating for the 2011 IPL’s opening match (Chennai Super Kings versus Kolkata Knight Riders) was 3.2 compared to 3.1 during the inaugural game (Deccan Chargers versus Kolkata Knight Riders) last year, according to overnight television ratings agency, aMap. The average rating per day for IPL-4 was expected to be 5. India’s matches had an average rating of 3.7 in the World Cup. The figure shot up to 5, 11 and 17 for the quarterfinal, semi-final and final, respectively.

“Though I haven’t lost interest in cricket, I’m not really keen on following the IPL. There seems to be no excitement about the tournament among people. Everyone seems disinterested,” said Afzal Shah, 27, manager with a luxury store in South Mumbai. Cricket enthusiasts also feel that with more teams in IPL-4, their favourite cricketers are divided into different teams. This makes the tournament boring.

Industry experts believe India is still rejoicing over the team’s victory at the World Cup and that viewer interest may take a while to resurface. “There was hardly any gap between the World Cup and the IPL. People had altered their schedule to see the World Cup, but they might not want to do the same for the IPL,” said Shashank Srivastava, chief general manager (marketing), Maruti Suzuki India Ltd.     

Maruti Suzuki India Ltd has invested just Rs4 crore on IPL-4 compared to the Rs30 crore on the World Cup. Roy Kurian, business head at Yamaha Motors, too blamed the tight schedule for a dull response.

However, there are many who believe IPL-4 will attract the crowds as the tournament progresses. “The appetite for cricket is insatiable in India. The audience is still recovering from World Cup mania. We are taking a breather and will get back to the game with the same zest; it is just a matter of time,” said Anand Halve, co-founder, Chlorophyll (brand and communication consultancy). Added Sam Balsara, chairman and managing director, Madison World: “Cricket has had its peak. IPL is going to do extremely well. The World Cup was so exciting and the outcome was so dramatic, but I think IPL will do well too.”

The advertisement rates too have shot up. The rates for IPL-4 are Rs5.5 lakh per 10 seconds of advertising, a 25-30% increase since last year. The figure was Rs3.25 lakh for the World Cup. As a result, many advertisers have stayed off the television medium. As per industry analysts, SET Max, the official broadcaster of IPL-4, is expecting to earn Rs800-1,000 crore revenue this season.