New Delhi : Relieved that the eighth edition of the Indian Premier League has been controversy-free so far, IPL chairman Rajeev Shukla said that the recently-ended season has also been one of the most successful. He also said that television ratings were up 20%, and there were 15% more spectators in stadiums.
Over the past few years, the twenty20 league had been plagued by some controversy or the other, the most threatening being the 2013 betting and spot-fixing scandal. “So far, IPL 8 has been controversy free. BCCI’s anti-corruption unit has not reported anything yet,” said Rajeev Shukla. “However, we cannot stop betting, that’s for the government to see.”
The cricket board has sought to strengthen its anti-corruption unit by bringing in former Delhi Police Commissioner Neeraj Kumar as a consultant. Less controversy for the league also means more confidence amongst potential sponsors of the eight teams. This year, Rajeev Shukla said, most teams have seen a 20% increase in their sponsorship revenues.
And to top it all, organisers will give Rs 63 crore to each team from the central revenue pool, up from Rs 50 crore last year, adding to their profitability. According to TAM Media Research, in its first 54 matches, the IPL has seen 23% higher television ratings than the same period last year. The average rating for the tournament after the first 54 games stood at 3.6 compared with 2.9 for the same period of IPL 7.
IPL also tried out an experiment this year, where it organised Fan Parks to screen matches in those cities where IPL is not played, a move which turned out to be a successful one, with 10,000-20,000 spectators thronging these parks every game. “We will take it to more cities next year,” said Shukla. Shukla added that IPL will soon take a decision about the unsuccessful Champions League, but emphasised that the slot during the year will be re-utilised by bringing in a new financially viable tournament.
While the IPL has seen steady, and sometimes, rising television ratings over the past few years, the Champions League, which is played between the top domestic teams from across the globe in September every year and is owned by BCCI, Cricket South Africa and Cricket Australia, has registered a dip in its fortunes.
The board has been contemplating scrapping it, but Shukla said that the slot won’t be given up. “We will soon take a decision about the Champions League. The slot will either see the Champions League or we will bring in a new financially viable tournament in its place, but the slot will not be vacated,” he said. The buzz is that BCCI could be planning a shorter version of the IPL in UAE which had successfully hosted part of the IPL last year during the Lok Sabha elections at home.
