Cash-rich cricket tournament Indian Premier League (IPL) is alarmingly losing television viewership. In a recent survey, it has been found that in comparison to last year’s IPL, this year the viewership is nearly 40 per cent less in the 15-21 years age group. Viewership in other age groups have also registered considerable decline. Such a downward slide may upset the plan of the Board for Control of Cricket in India’s (BCCI) to fill its coffer by selling the television rights of the tournament. The BCCI has set a target of INR 33 thousand crores which is nearly INR 6500 thousand crores more than what it earned in 2017. To meet the target, the rate of the advertisement slots have gone up by Rs. One lakh per 15 seconds. At the same time, it will be a jolt to the development plans drawn by BCCI for the improvement of cricket in the country using the surplus funds generated by the most competitive franchise-based cricket tournament of the world.
Still, marketing managers are hopeful that it is a temporary phenomenon as board examinations have coincided with IPL this time. They are confident that the viewership will pick up during the play offs as examinations will be over by then. The assumption seems to be unrealistic and chances of IPL viewership making a big turnaround at the business end of the tournament this year seems to be bleak. Already, two of the most successful teams in the tournament’s history Mumbai Indians (MI) and Chennai Super Kings (CSK) are out of the competition. In addition, if Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) fails to reach the semifinals, the cricket loving crowd of the country will not be able to see their favourite cricketers like M. S. Dhoni, Virat Kohli or Rohit Sharma fighting for the coveted trophy, which will definitely keep them away from the TV sets.
As a matter of fact, the reason behind IPL’s falling popularity lies in excess cricket. During the last one and a half year, three IPL tournaments have been organised, making even the most exciting battle between the bat and the ball a little monotonous. This is why people are opting for other entertaining events on their TV sets. If the present trend continues IPL may soon be devoid of its sheen. One possible way to arrest the slump is to reduce the number of matches. Instead of a double-leg round robin format, IPL should adopt a single leg league format to make the competition fiercer. The other reason behind the slump may be the absence of new talents. Since its inception, the same cricketers have dominated the scene. Now as they have started fading away due to age, the tournament is also failing to attract people in the same manner as it had done in previous editions. The spectators want to see new upcoming stars taking the stage. Thus, IPL needs new heroes, a new format and a new marketing strategy to retain the attraction of the competition.