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Mr Sunder Raman

Meera Mohanty

New Delhi, April 23 With “very, very encouraging” television ratings for its opening matches, one would presume Mr Sunder Raman, CEO of the now $2-2.5 billion DLF IPL, would be putting his feet up and enjoying all the drama and action of the cricket matches. But the organisers are putting celebrations on hold till the end of Season One. For now, they are too busy fine-tuning the format, ironing out issues of organisation, hospitality and game governance.

When asked to quantify the game, Mr Raman says, “In monetary terms the business is approaching $2-2.5 billion. But that’s not the primary driver. What’s driving us is creating an unmatched consumer interest in the game.”

By Season Three, the league could have two more franchises, and IPL is seeing no fatigue on any front. “Current franchises are doing fabulously well,” says Mr Raman. Work on the Web and merchandise plans for both the IPL and the franchise are on.

Further commercial opportunities such as out-of-home viewing or live screening of matches will soon be capitalised upon. “It has been a great start. Chennai has been a bit of a concern, but we are looking to shore it up very soon with improved marketing and distribution,” said Mr Raman. TAM data shows that the city, which is complete CAS territory, scored TVRs lower than the other metros even while its own team, Chennai Super Kings, won against the Kings of Punjab on day two of the league.

The DLF IPL has committed to reinvesting the money earned into promoting the game at a grassroots level. With the kitty full from sale of franchise, broadcast and other rights, Mr Raman says the promise will be kept. And to those who worry that the new jazzed up format is the beginning of the end of the classical version, his reply is: “If anything, it will enhance the quality of cricket across the board. There is enough cricketing talent for different kinds of the game, different skill sets; different players for different audiences in this country.”

He also dismisses the theory that ratings have been whipped up by the star owners and their celebrity friends’ appearances at stadiums. “It’s not fair to say that the stars are pushing the ratings of the game single-handedly. All of them have come in purely for the nature of the game and the love of the game. The star value is complementary,” says Mr Raman, betting on a more than healthy interest being sustained.

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