Cricket, the favourite sport of India, the sport that brings everyone together as a part of occasion, when people forget to cook food at the time of match, when people rejoice and curse together unveils the charisma of familial relationships. The technicalities of the sport may not be known by everyone, however when a wicket is taken or six is hit, the pool of emotions rush by. This sport brings an entire community under one umbrella and works as a union maker. 

Sports broadcasting in India underwent a major underchange from radio broadcast to live streaming. Access to sports streams had been made easier than earlier. From radio, television to phone and OTT, sports broadcasting has come a long way.

The story of Sports broadcasting

Doordarshan bought the broadcasting rights for a sports telecast, that time DD charged 5 lakhs for airing a cricket event, until 1992, with the advent of globalisation and privatisation, private channels owned the broadcasting rights. BCCI gave production rights to Trans Day International which telecasted One Day and Test matches between India and Pakistan, from 1993 to 1999. 

In 1995, Sony Private Network launched ESPN, associated with English Sports Network, international sports became mainstream like English Premier League, Grand Slam tennis matches e.t.c. In a way globalisation and privatisation, access to a wide range of sports was possible. In 1999, Star Network launched Star Sports which telecasted cricket, football and tennis matches at peak. 

In the early 2000s, BCCI sold the broadcasting rights to Nimbus network for One Day International matches, for 364 million dollars. Nimbus production with their HDTV and SD TV package, were the highest bidder that time, so they were awarded the rights for four years from 2006 to 2010, to broadcast all domestic and international cricket matches. Lalit Modi, head of BCCI marketing proclaimed that it was a right direction for cricket coverage and broadcasting in India, cricket would get immense popularity and a boon for cricket fans to get fantastic television coverage on their favourite sport. 

In 2004, Zee launched their own sports channel, Zee Sports. The preface of Sports broadcasting changed entirely with the advent of IPL in 2008, and profits were made solely on that basis. Sony bought the rights for IPL in 2008 to air the India Premier League for the first time. 

IPL and the multitude of Cricket

(IPL) Indian Premier League was launched as a rival parent to (ICL) Indian Cricket League, launched by Zee, which was not officially recognised by BCCI, and instead there were heavy costs on those players who participated in this league. 

Following the victory in the 2007 T20 World Cup, BCCI announced the T20 league, which would be known as IPL. Then, BCCI Vice President Lalit Modi, announced its format and revenue system, with prize money, on what basis, the T20 league would be played, and the tournament had ten city or state based franchise teams. 

The growth of IPL in India

The Indian Premier League witnessed a major growth from 2010-12. The broadcasting rights were given to big private networks like Sony and Star, and the IPL tournament was expanded like no other sport. 

In 2010, IPL became the most televised event, the surge of popularity of this league led other countries to adopt this similar form of tournaments. In our neighbour nation Pakistan, they have (PSL) Pakistan Super League, with six city based teams. As well as (WPL) Women Premier League was introduced with the popularity of IPL, which marked the beginning of women’s cricket to become popular. The popularity of IPL was widespread on a global scale, and it became the second most popular event after EPL. 

BCCI saw a huge chunk of revenue from the IPL, so the marketing of this event was on a large scale.  As the pandemic hits, OTT took over the world and sports matches were broadcasted on apps, like Hotstar, with that gambling and betting business also expanded due to IPL. 

The tournament became buzz for the two months, with the matches and their moments, which contributed to player’s popularity as well. IPL served as a platform for rising talents as well, before the T20 World Cup, many young talents were recognised and selected for the World Cup squad. 

IPL is so popular in India, that it would be incomplete for two and half months for all Indians to go bonkers over IPL and cheering for CSK, RCB or MI. IPL is another kind of festival for Indians, to see their favourite players and deliver their best performances. 

How Cricket is a part of our daily life!? 

Cricket is as important as a cup of coffee or news headlines in our daily life. I have watched cricket since the age of 7, with my dad introducing me to his forever favourite legend Mahendra Singh Dhoni, and the historic win in 2011 ODI World Cup. However, I became a fan of cricket because of the IPL, the 2015 IPL, when I saw the magnificent Mumbai Indians captain Rohit Sharma lifting up the trophy under his captaincy.

Cricket became a dinner conversation, when India lost to Pakistan in 2017 Champions Trophy, or lost the 2019 ODI World Cup. We criticize the captain and the team on the basis of failure. It became a favorite topic for friends to discuss, about teams, players and performances. 

My fondest and recent memory of cricket was ODI World Cup 23 and T20 World Cup 24, with a winning streak of 10 matches the undisputed defeat came in the finals was a catastrophic heartbreak for the entire country. The crackers my friends and I bought went to waste with that defeat, but after 6 months, with the victory over South Africa in the finals. The crackers we bought came to use, and a huge celebration paraded on the streets. 

Overall, the credits of popularity and rise of cricket in India would be given to the BCCI for their right marketing strategies and correct decisions with broadcasting rights, that Cricket as a religion of India is their gift.