Despite close games, CLT20 failed to generate excitement
The third edition of the Champions League T20 finished over the weekend and for the third straight season, the tournament failed to attract both the fans and the TV viewers.
- NDTV
- Updated: October 12, 2011 10:40 AM IST
The third edition of the Champions League T20 finished over the weekend and for the third straight season, the tournament failed to attract both the fans and the TV viewers.
Shah Rukh Khan was roped in as the brand ambassador, but the clash of the champions once again had very few takers.
As per TAM ratings till the end of September, this season of the tournament had an average TRP of 1.45, a jump of a mere 0.01 from last season. Though the rating for the final, which had 2 Indian teams, is estimated to be around 1.9 to 2, it is still below the average rating for cricket in India which is around 3.
But if ever the fringe audiences, which are the masses, could have been attracted it had to be this season that had 4 Indian teams.
The tournament had stars like Jay Sean, Florida and Ludacris performed at the opening ceremony, a number of really close games, and also a healthy dose of Bollywood, but none of it worked. In fact not just the TV ratings, the crowd turnout at the stadiums was also extremely disappointing too.
"Coming at the end of so much cricket, with so many highs followed by a dramatic low, I am not surprised that ratings are low," Ajay Chandwani, Director, Percept said.
India's performance in England didn't help and the cricket fatigue also made things worse.
If there were no fans, the sponsors too were not very interested. Airtel pulled out as title sponsor, just 2 years into their 5-year deal. Nokia replaced them but at a lesser price according to an estimated deal. CLT20's Airtel deal was for Rs 150 crore for 3 + 2 years, whereas Nokia, the new title sponsors, have an estimated deal of Rs 120 crore for 3 years.
The advertisement rates for the host broadcasters this season was reportedly between Rs 1.5 to Rs 2 lakh per 10 seconds. In IPL, the rates go above Rs 4.5 lakh for a 10-second commercial.
So clearly none of the strategies are working for the CLT20. Maybe the board should look for a marketing genius like Lalit Modi to get the crowds back.