IPL on a sticky wicket over strict limits on match coverage

The IPL was modelled along the lines of the English Premier League and the franchises to the teams were to be auctioned.

The very concept saw the IPL get cricket featured in unusual media: the financial dailies and the business news channels.

When the auction date neared and it was revealed that Bollywood superstar Shah Rukh Khan, actor Preity Zinta and flamboyant liquor baron Vijay Mallya of Kingfisher were among the serious bidders, the IPL was on the front pages of all the major newspapers in India and on prime time news television, business magazines and the general entertainment channels such as Star Plus and Colors.

The second edition of the IPL had more stars, more celebrities and more controversy (including the shifting of the tournament to South Africa) resulting in more unpaid publicity.

But now, the IPL’s new guidelines for news broadcasters threaten to end the cosy relationship between the organisers and the channels.

According to the new rules, TV channels can only use up to 30 seconds of fresh footage for a total of seven minutes a day, while online portals are not allowed to broadcast any of the match footage. In addition, footage of the matches cannot be repeated more than three times a day. As a result, major channels have decided to ignore the IPL unless the guidelines remain as they were for the previous two seasons.

“The view of the news channels is clear and unambiguous,” says Times Now editor-in-chief Arnab Goswami. “There was an agreement between the IPL and the National Broadcasters’ Association in 2008. These guidelines hold well in the present context, and the only issue is their effective implementation.”

If the standoff continues, the pre-tournament, pre-match and post-match programming would be missing, as would the gossip and controversy that news channels created. If the news broadcasters are correct in their assumption that the IPL needs them more than they need the IPL, and are therefore flexing their combined muscle, the threatened boycott is bad news for the IPL. “I believe that this current impasse does not augur well for the building of brand IPL,” says Pratap Bose, CEO, Mudra Max and COO, Mudra Group.

The need for the additional buzz might be even greater than before, with the Pakistani players controversially absent, and the English players’ association recommending that security is a concern. Meanwhile, Andhra Pradesh, home to one of the IPL franchises, the Deccan Chargers, is in political turmoil.

As with anything to do with the IPL, rumours surrounding the standoff are rife. If the question is who will blink first, the smart money is on the broadcasters winning. Revert to the old rules or IPL version three could be stumped.

Industry comments

Arnad Goswami, editor-in-chief, Times Now
“I cannot understand why either IPL or principal broadcaster Set Max would do anything that impedes news coverage. They should come together to support news channels even more and realise that they contribute as much, if not more, to the event as the broadcaster itself. It is impossible to even think of IPL having the buzz it does without news channels.”

Pratap Bose, CEO, Mudra Max and COO. Mudra Group
“The National Broadcasters Association representing 34 news channels in India has decided to boycott the third IPL, which leaves Lalit Modi in an extremely sensitive predicament where he faces a complete blackout in terms of any surround sound created by the IPL and a situation he can ill afford. In India, the news channels are part and parcel of all the hype and fervour.”

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This article was originally published in the 25 February 2010 issue of Media.