IPL-Commercial Masterstroke or Talent Hunter

The Great Indian Rip-off of EPL.....

Indian Premier League

No disrespect, but if Lalit Modi can call it his Brain child then I can certainly call it TGIRO.Ipl is a domestic T-20 cricket tournament held annually in India (at least that is what was planned!!!).It has put cricket back on radar in world sports arena, by making it a lucrative buisness.Board Of Cricket Control In India (BCCI) is the governing body of the IPL.It is reported that BCCI is richer than any other club in the world beating the likes of New York Yankees & Real Madrid. So where does BCCI generate so much money from?
Answer lies in the IPL. Though people hear about the cheap tickets and high player bids, BCCI has hit a masterstroke by tapping into a new market created owing to the T-20 cricket format.Womens, children, Grandparents & People who think 'Cricket is too long to watch' are watching the IPL.By presenting IPL as a platform to encourage youngsters in India, it nicely veils itself. Some Facts which blew my head about IPL are:-

• Sports broadcaster Sony Max and sports rights company World Sport Group have jointly paid US$1.026bn for the rights to the Indian Premier League (IPL) cricket championship.
• The organizers raised a whopping Rs 7,000 crore from the auction. Franchisees will now market their individual teams and christen them in consultation with IPL. The rights last for ten years, starting from this year.
• Bidding for the 77 available players reached about $40 million and $1.026 billion paid for the initial television rights and $723.6 million for franchise ownership.

All this in just two years. Even in this economic slowdown (I am not a huge fan of word recession).Its quite amazing how they managed this. For those who don't follow football. This idea is not new, infact it is just an inspiration (NOT COPY) from English Premier League.

With Each team allowing only 4 overseas player to play, it sure does encourage youngsters & new early buds. But I doubt when this cap will be blown and eventually allow this to be a platform of harboring money in your "Glittering Bank Accounts”. Like this year, they brought in this new rule about Strategic time-break, which is just a gimmick to fit in more commercials. I hate it when people in the name of cricketing reasons slip in lucrative business deals. Some one needs to tell them we aren’t stupid.This does look like a commercial masterstroke but I think as long as there is a limit of only 4 overseas players I think it’s a bargain any country would take.

Reply in guys with your views and comments