The pink newspapers claim that there is not as much demand as anticipated for television ad time during the ongoing cricket world cup matches. Some columnists went one step ahead to declare that cricket is in a decline. Is it really?
I think it is not cricket which is in a decline but the economy built around cricket. Last 20 years have seen this economy growing by leaps and bounds. The game was made literally more colorful. 'All white' dresses of the past gave way to more colorful ones. New formats were invented. 20-20 is the new rage. Cheer leaders upped the glamor quotient of the game. New tournaments were invented. T20 world cup is played every 2 years. 4 years is too long a gap, isn't it? New leagues were given birth to. IPL, isn't it like EPL?, has emerged as the biggest rival to bollywood. Cricket is spreading to more and more nations in the world. Every new team means 11 new players, more matches, more telecast time on TV and more ad revenues. And we have an ever expanding army of commentators. Every retired player is a commentator these days. It looks like becoming a commentator is the new retirement, more lucrative than playing in some cases. BTW, is Ganguly still playing? Some pretty faces also metamorphosed into commentators. Do you remember Mandira Bedi and her noodle straps? And who can ignore the poster boys of this economy? Every cricketer is a super model. Not just Indian cricketers, but foreign players too. They tell you what brand of alcohol to drink, what brand of watch to wear, what brand of drink quenches your thirst, what brand of food supplement gives you energy, what automobile you should ride, what brand of clothes you should wear.. and there is no end to this list. All of us know who are laughing all their way to the bank.
But the party cannot go on forever. I think the cricket economy had seen its peak. It is in for some moderation now. You may ask what makes me think so. History. All the commercial elements of the cricket economy are designed with only one type of consumer in mind. That is the Indian cricket fan. Every cricket playing nation would want to play a series against India, so as to make some money for its cricket board. The schedules of any cricket tournament across the world are planned to suit the Indian TV viewer. In a way, all cricket related businesses are living off the Indian consumer. Isn't like like the world economy living off the American consumer until not long ago? A re-balancing will eventually follow as it did in the form of a recession for the global economy. The Indian consumer can not forever support every new player, every new commentator, every new marketer.....History also proved that monopolies don't last forever. Cricket as a game has monopoly over the Indian sports space for more than 20 years now. There has been too much of cricket on TV in recent years, to the extent that some fans are fed up with it. In the fast globalizing Indian society, cricket is not the only 'fashionable thing' for the younger generation. With the advent of more sports channels now, Indians can watch many other sports from across the world live on TV. I would say this is the beginning of the end of cricket's monopoly.
I think it is not cricket which is in a decline but the economy built around cricket. Last 20 years have seen this economy growing by leaps and bounds. The game was made literally more colorful. 'All white' dresses of the past gave way to more colorful ones. New formats were invented. 20-20 is the new rage. Cheer leaders upped the glamor quotient of the game. New tournaments were invented. T20 world cup is played every 2 years. 4 years is too long a gap, isn't it? New leagues were given birth to. IPL, isn't it like EPL?, has emerged as the biggest rival to bollywood. Cricket is spreading to more and more nations in the world. Every new team means 11 new players, more matches, more telecast time on TV and more ad revenues. And we have an ever expanding army of commentators. Every retired player is a commentator these days. It looks like becoming a commentator is the new retirement, more lucrative than playing in some cases. BTW, is Ganguly still playing? Some pretty faces also metamorphosed into commentators. Do you remember Mandira Bedi and her noodle straps? And who can ignore the poster boys of this economy? Every cricketer is a super model. Not just Indian cricketers, but foreign players too. They tell you what brand of alcohol to drink, what brand of watch to wear, what brand of drink quenches your thirst, what brand of food supplement gives you energy, what automobile you should ride, what brand of clothes you should wear.. and there is no end to this list. All of us know who are laughing all their way to the bank.
But the party cannot go on forever. I think the cricket economy had seen its peak. It is in for some moderation now. You may ask what makes me think so. History. All the commercial elements of the cricket economy are designed with only one type of consumer in mind. That is the Indian cricket fan. Every cricket playing nation would want to play a series against India, so as to make some money for its cricket board. The schedules of any cricket tournament across the world are planned to suit the Indian TV viewer. In a way, all cricket related businesses are living off the Indian consumer. Isn't like like the world economy living off the American consumer until not long ago? A re-balancing will eventually follow as it did in the form of a recession for the global economy. The Indian consumer can not forever support every new player, every new commentator, every new marketer.....History also proved that monopolies don't last forever. Cricket as a game has monopoly over the Indian sports space for more than 20 years now. There has been too much of cricket on TV in recent years, to the extent that some fans are fed up with it. In the fast globalizing Indian society, cricket is not the only 'fashionable thing' for the younger generation. With the advent of more sports channels now, Indians can watch many other sports from across the world live on TV. I would say this is the beginning of the end of cricket's monopoly.
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