Or then you are Lalit Modi, the 'commissioner' of the Indian Premier League(IPL). The conventional scheme would have taken a couple of decades in conjunction with all possible catalysts for him to have made it to the everyday coffee table discussion. So, Mr. Modi chose direct his energy into crafting a sports league now officially the 22nd most innovative company.
Naman Ojha, a little known cricketer from Madhya Pradesh is an overnight sensation. Venues like Dharmashala are on the cricket map today. Advertising has to pass the IPL litmus test before being endorsed at the Goa Fest. Charity saw a helping hand -India(Breast Cancer Charity) and South Africa (Help Educate and Teach)
In this age where success is a function of ROI, the IPL was exemplary with unheard of amounts being offered for every single association. Monetization peaked when mobile TV, Theatrical, Entertainment rights were sold. But the question now is 'How much is too much?' Is the viewer okay with an ad played right between consecutive deliveries of an ongoing over, a ticker that tells him that he can connect with the cheerleader by dialing a VAS number at Rs. 12/min or when the commentator talks more about Maxx Mobile, Karbonn Mobile, DLF, Citibank, MRF more than the cricket.
The cricketers are made to slog it out on the field for an average of three days in a week leaving aside the travel they do between venues and of course the 'Karbonn IPL Nights' that go on till the wee hours. Mumbai Indians, a franchisee even went to the extent of saying it on record that they have set their eyes on winning the league even at the cost of possible injuries to some front-line names who have been entrusted with the responsibility of the World Cup T20.
Lalit was last seen in an IPL match signing autographs with the WSG cameras covering him. So, Modi- the innovator or the prick, you decide!
It forces me to use the much clichéd statement “customer is king” in this context. Lalit “IPL commisioner” Modi has given the world what they were desperately looking for – a heady cocktail of sports and entertainment. Full paisa vasool – hats off to you Mr. Modi! But he has to give some credit to BCCI for that, otherwise an idea stolen from Mr. Subhash Chandra ( read ICL) could not have taken –off at all.
ReplyDeleteNowadays, it is very easy to for the National selectors to pick players for the Indian cricket team- thanks to the IPL, you have a good season ( say 40 days) and you are in the good books of the who’s who of Indian cricket. Good for the vast talent pool that the country has to offer. But, is it fair for a player who slogs it out in the Ranji matches and doesn’t get a place in the Indian team even after a consistently good performance.
I would go ahead and say Lalit Modi is an icon today- a shrewd entrepreneur. Somehow, I feel he is overusing the golden goose, where in, the viewer is getting too much of what he does not want – a lot of hoopla. Players are getting fatigued with too many matches and too much travelling. At the end of the day if a viewer doesn’t get to see his favourite cricketer playing in front of him he would turn its back on IPL and find something new to watch. After all he is “the king” and he will make his choice.
Had a long day in office…leaving early …would like to watch the IPL match today right from the first ball :)
First of all the article is really nicely written, covering all the points without being verbose. :)
ReplyDeleteNow, here I cannot agree more with both of you. As long as the customers eyes are glued to the TV sets it doesn't matter how many ads do they play, at what time and what commentators talk.
This format came into existence only for making money, not a single person but each and every entity that is associated with it, be it players, the board, or the pimp himself.
And we people, the impatient generation, gets and equally edgy game.
Win-win situation for all !!!
Modi is an amazingly innovative and shrewd businessman for sure! The way he has transformed the Cricket in India deserves an applause. He has shrunk the duration, hiked the glamor, pushed the hype to the maximum for a sport which has that credibility and influence in Indian Sports Entertainment.
ReplyDeleteBut I feel hype is something that cannot be sustained indefinitely. Other constraints apart, there is always something called overselling a brand. If you overdo it, It will become a commodity. Something like the telecom market in India. With more and more IPL teams coming in, it will gradually lose its sheen.
But the fact is, Mr. Modi has shown the world how best sports can be commercialized to be a profitable venture which can boost latent talent. Kudos to him for that. Hopefully, other sports follow a similar model to gain mass acceptance. Hope to see India also becoming a great sporting nation.As for the side-effects, everything in excess is harmful!!
All said and done.. but the word 'PIMP'is not going out from my mind..in the above mentioned article and responses ensued, everybody heaped praise on Mr. Lalit Modi..IPL is the best example of how to use money, business acumen and above all power in creating a business behemoth...i guess after Reliance Industries in Post Colonial India.
ReplyDeleteAs an impartial viewer/spectator..my only concern is to enjoy the 3 hours run-fest with an appreciative attitude. i think many of us ( naive like me) will endorse my viewpoint.
They say, "criticism is the measure of ur success"... if evry stakeholder is getting profit out of IPL and as a viewer we have 3 hrs or 6hrs entertainment evryday..i guess there should n't be any harm in that...
Skeptics will say it is overdose..but at the EOD it depends on u (viewers) in which quantity u want to take it.. :-)
With every thing there a 2 aspects Good and Bad...
ReplyDeleteWe can always see the good part in this...young players working hard to get in the Indian team but are unable to make it because of corruption,reservation(only one player from one region of the country) and many reasons.....but IPL has given them a platform which could not have been given by any other platform...
Who would have guessed Asnodkar a Goan lad getting chance to show his skills in cricket...I dont thing so.... karthik who is a very good wicket keeper batsman but as Dhoni is in the Indian team he is not able to make it to the indian team ...But in IPL he is showing in every inning he plays that he is also there...he also exists...like wise there are N number of players who could not have made it to the Indian team can get a chance to show there skills in the IPL...so for me I only care that youngsters from India are getting more and more chance....n what is wrong if the money is good it is in turn helping India in many ways...employment,enjoyment,excitement,encouragement n many more things....N most important PUNE will be a team in IPL and pune cricketers who are far more talented but dont get chance to perform because of many shitty things will get chance to play :)...
Mr. Modi...He certainly is an innovator.
ReplyDeletewhats with his shrewd sense of business?..its the same with any of us striving to get the highest paying job in the field of our most interest...If you don't have the guts to do and live it you drown in your own cribbing and jealousy.
And he but obviously has done a lot of good to a lot of cricketers (as pointed out by evryone here) and to many other industries as well..
If as an economy you don't give space to new chaps to come and play the game, you only old. And so the pool of money, advertisers, attention, players, viewers and customers at all levels will do much greater good in the long run.
Mr. Modi is again enjoying and basking in all the attention he is getting... let him be...lets just be happy spectators and enjoy the treat that he z serving :)
And he is just the one among the many mores to come who would bring in more commercialization...and then the optimization would follow.
I do not believe that Modi is a real innovator. Well he could copy the concept of NFL pretty well. And by the way.. Cricket in indianow a days are like Ekta kapoor's K-series. Even game like NFL, happens once a year in US, make sense for the players and for the audiance. But, cricke is not the same in India..
ReplyDelete