Sundar Raman, chief executive officer, Indian Premier League, or IPL, the 20-over cricket tournament, still wears a look of disbelief on his face as he recounts how IPL season 2 managed to turn out bigger, brighter and a whole lot richer than the inaugural season in 2008, given that the billion-dollar tournament was on the verge of being scrapped just three weeks before the scheduled start date of 18 April. They had less than three weeks to put it all together again, he says—in South Africa.
Sundar Raman, chief executive officer, Indian Premier League
Just to recap, the last-minute changes included a Rs137 crore sponsorship loss as Reliance-Anil Dhirubhai Ambani Group, or R-Adag, walked out on the deal after what it viewed as a breach of contract by IPL broadcaster Multi Screen Media Pvt. Ltd, or MSMPL. This soured relations between IPL and MSMPL and a two-week legal battle ensued, during which the Rs4,048 crore broadcast rights bought by the broadcaster along with World Sport Group, or WSG, a sports consultancy, in 2008 were revised and MSMPL was stripped of them. Following an out-of-court settlement, the rights were restored to the broadcaster at a value 80% more than that of theprevious year.
At about the same time, Raman and the IPL management team hit the barrier of security. The government wanted the entire tournament rescheduled, saying it couldn’t provide adequate security at the match venues at a time when additional forces were needed for the general election, being held in the same period.
The jam-packed cricket calendar did not allow any other window for the tournament—and the IPL management decided to look beyond India.
Two months later, Raman shares with Campaign the lessons from season 2 and says he is leaving no stone unturned for the Champions League slated for 8-23 October. Edited excerpts from the interview:
What was your experience with IPL 2?
When IPL 1 ended, we thought there was ample time to prepare for the next season but with the last-minute changes, we were left with less than three weeks to put it all together. Looking back at season 2, we were able to achieve what we did in such a short time because it was a coordinated effort from all parties involved in the IPL, from the sponsors to the broadcaster and the IPL franchises.
It was a choice between taking IPL to another country or not having it at all this year, and I think the move to South Africa also made us realize the wide reach of the tournament. It is truly a global brand with a fan following that extends beyond (national) boundaries. When I spoke to Mint first on IPL, I said we plan to make it a global brand, and with this sudden move to South Africa, it happened faster than we had planned—we have realized the additional revenue generation streams from international markets. Also, the fact that we pulled it off successfully in South Africa makes IPL command bigger respect.