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SINGAPORE: Cricket's glitzy Indian Premier League will shrug off a domestic ratings plunge this year but needs a revamp to appeal to international audiences, its marketing partner said Friday.
World Sport Group chief executive Andrew Georgiou said a 20-25 percent drop in TV ratings this year was always possible after the event was expanded to 10 teams in its third year.
“I think the drop-off was inevitable. There was a lot of hype in the first couple of years but even 3.5 rating points (percentage of nightly audience) in India is still a very, very strong position,” he told AFP.
“And that drop-off was a result of the extra number of teams. The overall cumulative audience I think was still very good.”
But he said the event was missing the mark with audiences outside of South Asia, which are used to a more cerebral brand of cricket rather than the IPL's cheerleaders and confetti.
“I think internationally it's challenging. At the moment the IPL is a product which is made for an Indian and South Asian audience and they need to address that,” he said.
Georgiou preferred not to comment on an ongoing legal dispute between World Sport Group and Indian cricket authorities concerning its 10-year contract for the IPL's media rights, secured for one billion dollars in 2008.
