I wish to add a grouse on behalf of All the Non Hindi speaking Indians. Doordarshan, now Prasad Bharati had pocketed the TV Rights for India for all the events that are to take place on the Indian Soil. So we have to remain their slaves till some one outbids them during the next round of 'Tender'. In the interim can the DD Sports consider the other option for having simultaneous sound bite in Hindi & English to be broadcasted and leave the choice of listening to the Viewers with the help of the Cable Operators. ESPN has in the past done this by which there were two different channels giving English and Hindi voice with the same pictures leaving it to the viewers choice.
Criticism seems to be abundant in this article. The answer lies in the question. even Sachin cannot attract the crowds . Why ? Because they thougth the matches would be un interesting .
Taking the matches to any network would have just may be put revenues in the coffers of those channels. But that doesnt mean it would have attracted anyoen to go to the stadia to watch this match
The whole analysis is baseless and argumentative.
It was a good start and you cannot expect a dream start. It will improve in the comign years. Exciting cricket will only make this intersting. Presence of big names doesnt gurantee it
I cudnt agree with u more on this..I live in the US and one has to only look at the turnout and promotion,the Universities insist on,to promote College football...so much better publicised than a Ranji trophy final ...
Now I know why Idli Dosa eating people always have more brains than the ones who eat Roti's like me. Mr. Swaminathan has thrown the right paced balls to hit Mr. Jagmohan (Mr. Ooh-I'm-The-Greatest-Marketing-Guru) Dalmiya, where it hurts! His sense of marketing I mean!
You can say BCCI does it best to promote Indian Cricket when they are on foreign tours. Big Money, Big Sponsorers, Big Games with Big Sides. Ofcourse, we seldom win. And when it comes to home grounds, BCCI, doesnt want to shell out big money, cause they know India always wins on homegrounds! And there's abundance talent, why waste money on promoting freshers, cause more often than not, the best freshers hardly get to represent the flag in cricket.
BCCI - is a one man limcumpoop association represented by one man who knows nothing of cricket but is a shrewd businessman who can go to any heights! I believe Ganguly managed to be the captain even with his poor performances (infact there was a stage when ICC should have introduced the non-playing captains post for Ganguly, sit on the side of field and please give your commands situation), dalmiya got ganguly in2 cricket.think
The points brought forward by the Mr Swaminathan are very relevant and it really is high time that the BCCI, did something about it. If it can't market the Challenger Series, it can forget about making the Ranji Trophy any success. Thus making "PROFESSIONAL" domestic cricket in the country absolutely unlucrative. There is absolutely no money in Domestic cricket in India. Also the services and facilities provided to domestic crickets is negligible compared to that of the national team. About time they did something about it!!
Why can't DD( atleast DD Sports ) improve it's standard. there is so much potential to make money even if they get the rights for only telecasting cricket matches but no body wants to think on those lines. why can't attractive packages be offered to commentators who will be more than willing to come over.. its time somebody at Doordarshan realised this & tapped this potential.
Before every match, there is a set of expectations among match-viewers. Given the environment in which challenger series is played, everyone knows the seriousness! So what is the point is invoking BCCI's marketing capabilities? No one can market these matches, unless players attitude and format of the match changes !
BCCI, as expected, messed it up. DD kept up its reputation for a boring and insipid coverage, with specially the Hindi commentary describing the obvious or just a 'behtareen shot'. These guys are still in the radio days. The English ones were a little better but they should cut down on the hyperboles a bit.
After watching the crisp and professional output fron ESPN-Star, DD is a damp squib. These guys are decades behind even in thinking. The statistics on offer were bare minimal. Things like the target score (which is constantly shown in the chase portion) was completely absent. There were no what-if projections. No balls left - runs remaining scoreline. The replays took ages to come on, and sometimes turned up as fast motion replays. The individual batsmen (currently batting) scores were rarely shown....one can go on. Looks like these chaps do not see other channels and learn anything at all...
Guys, the whole coverage sucked to the extreme.
DD, you have a long way to go, and BCCI better wake up and smell the coffee before its too late. They are taking the crowds for granted.
sir, i fully agree with you in what you have written in your article, but iam sorry to say you are very much narrow minded, yes certainly more money could be made by giving the television rights to espn but you must remember espn do not reach each and every remote corner of our country ,there are many millions of people in our country who do not have cable connections , these would not have a chance to watch cricket matches . AND MIND all cricket fans are only concerned with in watching the cricket match not the channel in which it is telecasted
This was a very thought provoking article indeed. Every genuine cricket lover probably echoes the same sentiments. This was a real hard-hitting article, especially to someone like me, who is employed in a brand building consultancy firm. Having watched closely, the brand and marketing initiatives of some of the top companies from across the country, I cannot but help think that maybe the BCCI needs to employ modern management techniques in running the cricketing structure in the country. After all, as you have rightly pointed out, with the rising popularity of Formula 1 and Football, the BCCI needs to pull up its socks and fast. The Brand 'Cricket India' needs to be built taking lessons from the ECB and Cricket Australia. And the earlier the BCCI understands this and takes profesional help, the better it would be for the sport in the country.
