In this day and age of new media innovations, watching cricket from any part of the globe is not a problem anymore, thanks to live online streaming on sports websites
Just as I was boarding my flight for London from Mumbai on Tuesday last week, I was wondering how to watch IPL matches for the next couple of weeks. It was a false apprehension in this day and age of new media innovations. Just as the flight landed at Heathrow and we left the active runway, I switched my BlackBerry on and navigated to the IPL page of the digital host broadcaster. And my jet lag vanished within minutes as I watched AB De Villiers play some unbelievable shots in Ashis Nehra?s last over to give the Royal Challengers an improbable win over the Pune Warriors. As I was waiting to collect my luggage I watched the post-match presentation and left for the hotel with all my apprehensions of not being able to watch the tournament put to rest.
The apprehension, however, returned the next morning. I was about to leave for Sweden and it is one thing following cricket in England and a completely different thing following the game in a country where it is considered alien. Despite knowing that I could still follow it on the Internet, the mental adjustment was causing me much angst. The IPL is all about getting into the mood; it is a sports-entertainment complex that cannot be enjoyed in isolation. Yet again I was mistaken. Watching it online on a 15-inch computer screen transported me to my Kolkata home and within seconds I was in my drawing room enjoying all the action. I could appreciate Mahendra Singh Dhoni vent his frustration when Ravi Ashwin conceded five wides and could understand what Saurav Ganguly must have felt when he walked away from the dugout soon after Pune lost the match by 13 runs. A dream start followed by two consecutive close defeats and Ganguly, it was apparent, was feeling the heat to bring the Pune campaign back on track.
As I watched the action on my BlackBerry and also on my laptop, I realised yet again this is where the next major innovation in cricket broadcast is waiting to happen. In India itself the number of people with mobile connectivity is 800 million, six times more than the number of cable and satellite homes in the country. And the connectivity is growing at an amazing speed, expanding the consumer base manifold. So much so that the more connected people the broadcaster is able to bring within its fold, the higher the return from the property.
The choice of advertisements/advertisers vary depending on the country you are in, opening up yet another income stream. For example, in Sweden the primary advert after every over bowled is a Lyca Mobile advertisement promoting call rates to India. The ?all new Audi A4? is yet another ad being shown in the digital space. And with the ever growing Indian diaspora showing no signs of cricket saturation, the broadcaster should look to target these newer markets to recover the staggering rights fees paid for the property.
Coming back to the tournament itself, there?s little doubt the next one week will decide the contenders for the semi-final spots. Delhi Daredevils, as has been unanimously agreed upon, looks all set to make the last four. Sehwag, Pietersen, Jayawardene and Taylor, with Morkel, Yadav and Nadeem can demolish any bowling or batting line-up and unless there are injuries in the next few days, there?s little stopping Delhi going forward. The other three slots are, however, open. Rajasthan may have early momentum but they have played more of their games at home and it remains to be seen how they tackle a few of their away games in the next few days. Mumbai, Kolkata, Pune, Banglaore and Chennai are all in the hunt and one good week of cricket will see a few of these teams surge ahead of the others.
This is where the captain and some of the key players will need to play important roles. Gayle has already demonstrated his unique ability by hitting Rahul Sharma for five consecutive sixes. It is now a test of Sharma?s character to be able to come back and win his side a game or two. Similarly, Harbhajan needs to lead from the front to get Mumbai?s campaign back on track. They have been inconsistent so far, a real aberration for a quality T-20 side. With Sachin back in the team, Harbhajan will have all the support he needs to do the needful. And while all of these things unfold in India, I?d happily watch all the action here in Sweden and thank the technological advance for this opportunity.
The writer is a sport historian