How India unlocked 'untapped potential' with IPL
When the India Premier league was announced in 2007 the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) bet on the pace of the format and the untapped potential that the marriage of entertainment and cricket had in India.A summer schedule and games being aired on entertainment networks around prime-time slots outside sports channels, pitched the league as a family-entertainer, altering viewership patterns for the sport in India.Watching cricket was suddenly a daily activity across ages. With the IPL, cricket had a theatrical allure - packed in a three-hour package.The league rode on the back of a digital transformation in India, which further amplified viewership and reach.Affordable internet plans and arrival of streaming facilitated IPL's seamless journey into people's phones, making it easier for people to catch it on the move.It has evolved into a unique product which sells success stories and narratives for posterity to a country where most kids, at some point, aspire to pursue cricket professionally.The rags-to-riches stories drive the aspiration of pursuing cricket backed by the kind of money that the IPL can offer young cricketers hailing from lesser-privileged communities.Experts believe that the IPL's primary merit has been facilitating a gradual transition from an obsession with foreign names to a population proud of its homegrown talents.Joy Bhattacharya, cricket pundit and former technical director of Kolkata knight Riders, says: "The platform helps them [parents of young children] associate, dream, hope and get closer to the stars - in cricket and entertainment."
With the success, the value of the tournament has soared from a $2 billion valuation in 2008 - its first season - to $12 billion in 2024.Despite its comparatively short duration - 65 days in 2024 - compared to other major sporting leagues across the world, what makes the IPL such a consistently growing brand?The 10 franchises, each representing a major Indian city or a state have ventured into other international T20 leagues stretching individual brand identities beyond India and increasing IPL's impact on the global cricketing ecosystem.In a primarily sponsorship driven market, the IPL's duration promises a definite yet intense stretch for sponsors and strategic partnerships, which drive the major share of IPL's revenue.Bhattacharya says the IPL is a "singular advertising phenomenon with the national focus completely concentrated on it".
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Daily Mail
3 hours ago
- Daily Mail
Another erotic video of Stefon Diggs emerges after viral footage of NFL star flirting with bikini-clad women
Stefon Diggs has gone viral again after another awkward video of the New England Patriots star surfaced, with the wide receiver's future in New England in doubt. A Sunday afternoon Instagram post from Diggs' A-list girlfriend Cardi B shows her doing an erotic dance move in Diggs' direction. Diggs responds by palming his partner's behind and smacking it multiple times. Cardi B looks far from upset by the profane gesture, as she continues to do the dance move after eyeing her man. Diggs' lifestyle with his rap girlfriend comes into the limelight again less than a week after footage of him flirting with bikini-clad women with the 'WAP' performer close by went viral. As revealed by earlier this week, Cardi B was left seething by her NFL beau's antics. 'Cardi for her part, whether she is there or not, doesn't want her man flirting with any ladies,' the insider said. 'Girls will throw themselves on him all the time, but she wishes he wouldn't be a scumbag and flirt back.' 'Cardi has had her fair share of relationship issues, and she doesn't want it to continue with Stefon. And now that the video went viral, she is really frustrated with him that he would allow that to happen,' the source continued. 'He should know better, the fact that he didn't realize what was going on around him is embarrassing and she is mad at him.' In other photos of Cardi B's post she is seen on a boat nearly kissing Diggs, receiving hundreds of red roses, as well as getting her hair done. The veteran wide receiver was filmed on a yacht in Florida surrounded by scantily-clad women over Memorial Day Weekend. The viral video captured on Monday showed Diggs lounging shirtless on the boat and chatting with three women, all dressed in bikinis, who called him 'daddy.' Toward the end of the clip, he produced a plastic bag containing an unknown substance that one of the women took from him. Diggs was seen holding court with the gaggle of fawning women as loud music blared in the background. While it was hard to make out the full conversation, at one point Diggs repeatedly asked the three women, 'What's my name?' and at least two of them responded by calling him 'daddy.' The Patriots signed Diggs to a three-year, $69million contract in late March after one season with the Houston Texans. While he is currently recovering from a torn ACL, he may have already landed himself in hot water before the 2025 season has even begun. Diggs took to social media on Saturday to share a series of snaps from the past month before suggesting he needed to turn his attention to his work on the field. 'to the month of May, I appreciate you none the less… gotta stay focused,' he captioned the carousel of 20 photos, which included a picture of him sat courtside with Cardi at a New York Knicks game. New Patriots head coach Mike Vrabel addressed the viral clip on Wednesday, after Diggs was absent from team practice. Vrabel, a former teammate of Tom Brady, claimed that any conversations on the issue would remain in-house. 'And so the message will be the same for all our players, that we're trying to make great decisions,' Vrabel told reporters. 'And any conversations that I've had with Stefon will remain between him and I and the club.' The insider warned that 31-year-old Diggs could be facing greater punishment for going against the 'Patriots way.' 'Mike Vrabel and the Patriots are looking to keep the incident as much in-house as they can from this point forward,' the source explained. 'It is already more of a situation than it needs to be and is not the Patriots way, nor is it the look Vrabel wants for the team,' the source continued. According to Albert Breer of Sports Illustrated, New England could take serious action against the receiver in the aftermath of the Memorial Day video.
Daily Mail
3 hours ago
- Daily Mail
EXCLUSIVE Debt-ridden wedding firm took nearly £50,000 from couples despite already having gone BUST
An wedding entertainment firm left 'heartbroken' couples thousands of pounds out of pocket by taking bookings after it had already gone bust, an investigation has found. Frederick Reeves, 49, also known as Jamie, and Claire Reeves, 41, ran 'The Best Singing Waiters' - a company that hired 'servers' who would suddenly burst into song at weddings and other big social events. However, brides and grooms were left 'devastated' when the performers did not turn up on their big day - despite them having paid for the service in full. One mother of the bride last year told MailOnline how she lost £1,400 after booking two waiters from the firm as a surprise for her daughter's wedding. Kathryn Dean, aged 60, from Liverpool, paid Mr Reeves in two installments in 2021 and only found out the firm had gone bust on social media. Now it has emerged that the Wigan-based company continued to take payments totalling £43,590 from 43 customers, despite being in severe financial difficulty. A probe by the Insolvency Service found that the husband and wife duo knew there was 'no reasonable expectation they could provide the services they offered'. Mr and Mrs Reeves have now been banned as company directors for eight years by the government agency. The Best Singing Waiters, which was also known as Solfan1, eventually went into liquidation with debts of more than £700,000 and assets of just over £168,000. Rob Clarke, Chief Investigator at the Insolvency Service, said: 'Couples were left heartbroken after finding out the singing waiters they had paid to perform at their weddings would not show up. 'Several of the customers who lost out financially were even offered discounts by the company to make their payment in full at the time of the booking. 'The serious misconduct that both Frederick and Claire Reeves displayed falls short of the standards we expect of company directors which is why they have both been disqualified until May 2033.' Speaking to MailOnline about her experience last year, Ms Dean said she was convinced she would never get her money back. She said: 'The singing waiters were going to be a surprise for all the guests. 'My daughter was devastated when we found out. 'I felt sick - this was my daughter's wedding day after all. 'I still just can't believe that someone could do this to somebody else. 'If Jamie really wanted to, he could have covered our wedding for himself - he has all the equipment.' She said that she first got in touch with The Best Singing Waiters in February 2021 and paid a deposit of £800. Ms Dean said: 'I was dead excited - it was the first thing that we booked. 'I was thinking at the time "what a way to get a wedding started". 'I paid the second instalment of £800 in November 2021 and I thought it was all sorted. Jamie kept in contact and he would send me videos of his work. 'Then on March 8 of this year [2024] I gave him another call and spoke to the office manager. We went through the song list. 'She said we would need to provide lunch for the two singers - this was fine so I rang up the catering company and paid for this. 'She then said thank you very much and there is nothing else we need to do now. She also sent me videos of the two singing waiters were going to have on the day. 'Then I heard nothing else until I just saw on social media that they had closed down. 'On May 10 [2024], I got one automated email saying that they had gone into administration.' Ms Dean said it was very unlikely that she would get her money back through insolvency services and that given more than 150 days had passed she wouldn't be able to get a refund on her credit card. Dozens of couples were affected by The Best Singing Waiters going bust and several hit out on social media at the time. One bride-to-be posted on Facebook: 'Our wedding is in 4 weeks. We're absolutely gutted. 'My elderly mother had bought this for a surprise and can't get a penny back!' Another said: 'I've booked and paid in full for April next year, gutted. Hopefully something can be done.' A third added: 'Same company have taken a £1000 from us.' Solfan1 was incorporated in November 2015 and Ms Reeves was appointed as director in April 2018. Frederick Reeves was never officially listed as director of the company but did not dispute that he acted in the capacity of a director when accepting his disqualification following Insolvency Service investigations. The company was in financial difficulties in early 2024, having been served a winding-up petition from HM Revenue and Customs for tax debts of more than £200,000 at the start of February. Following discussions with a private insolvency practitioner, the couple agreed on 28 March that Solfan1 should be placed into liquidation. However, from then until the company went into liquidation on 1 May 2024, they continued to take deposits and full payments from new customers. Analysis by investigators revealed that an estimated 43 customers made payments totalling £43,590 to the company during that period.
BBC News
4 hours ago
- BBC News
Test Match Special Root masterclass sees England win thriller
Simon Mann, England Ashes winner Steven Finn, and former England batter & West Indies Roland Butcher react to Joe Root's vintage 166 in a thrilling victory for England against West Indies which sees them win the ODI series with a game to spare. Root discusses his best ever ODI knock, whilst captain Harry Brook runs out of superlatives to describe Root. Plus, West Indies captain Shai Hope reflects on a game which got away from his side.
