Over the last couple of years, there’s been a lot of talk about the viability of ODIs (One Day Internationals, 50 overs per side games) due to the growing popularity of T20 (20 overs per side games) cricket. Ever since the first T20 World Cup in South Africa, there have been two points of views about this issue:

• The Business View
• The Fan’s View

Let’s discuss what each of those perspectives are about…

The Business View

As an advertiser, you want to display your ads on events that catch the most eye-balls. Marketing works on one simple fundamental concept: “Spread your message wide enough, and you’ll get enough business to remain viable.”

More fans, more advertisments!

Let’s look at the viewership numbers in the recently concluded IPL2 in South Africa. According to the Economic Times‘ source, Audience Map, the IPL2 reached 90 million subscribers. Now consider a simple mathematical formulation: If you assume that only 10% of all the people who view your ads actually buy your product, that means that 9 million people will end up buying your product at least once. If you sell a product that costs $2 (Rs. 100) then you’ll essentially have earned $18 million thanks to advertisements that cost you around Rs. 8 lakh ($16,000, source [Warning: Subscription required to view article]) per ad spot.  You’ll probably run your advertisement 20 times to ensure that you reach the most eyeballs, and thus end up spending $320,000. Let’s assume you advertise in 10 matches, and you’ve spent $3.2 million.

The end result is, you’ll probably spend $3.2 million but you’ll end up earning anything between $5-18 million in a worst case scenario. The secondary sales (repeat sales coming in from customers who were happy with your product and want to buy again) will only bolster your numbers further.

That definitely increases the viability of advertising on an event that’s expected to do really well in terms of viewership. This is what happens in a T20 match. The games are shorter, the advertisement slots are fewer and thus demand a higher premium, but they also attract a lot more people from the younger demographic who tend to spend more freely. It definitely makes more sense to advertise high-consumption youth oriented products on a T20 match.

What about ODIs? According to a study by the University of North Iowa, the Cricket World Cup (which features ODI matches) has an estimated 2 billion viewers. So let us assume that 1% of the audience actually watches your advertisement and wants to buy our product. That works out to 20,000,000 (for those dazzled by the number of zeros, that’s 20 million) viewers. Now, suppose we are selling the same product that costs $2 (Rs. 100) then we end up earning $40 million. Let’s see how much we spent.

Given the fact that the ODI game is a lot longer than a T20, and that there are more opportunities to advertise, the rates per 10 second advertisement slot are lower than that of a T20, right? Wrong. The World Cup is a premium Event that happens once every 4 years, so the advertisement rates for the World Cup match those of the IPL. Or, from another perspective, look at it as being a once-in-4-years event, while the IPL happens once a year. You can see why the World Cup ad rates are the same as the IPL ad rates. They’re both premium events of the same caliber. Alright then, so we have $16,000 per ad spot.

But because the ODI game is a lot longer, we have to advertise more times than in a T20 game because the risk of a viewer switching channels is a lot higher. So we advertise 3 times as much because the potential market is just so much larger! We’re going to spend $480,000. But then, let’s assume that you want to advertise in 10 matches in that event, then you will end up spending $4.8 million.

Of course, the rates of ad spots and the viewership numbers are a lot lower when it comes to bilateral ties or tri-nation ODI events, and thus you will find that those make a different case by themselves. If your business operations are limited to a certain country or region, you might want to advertise only in matches involving teams from those regions, and save costs in advertising.

From a business perspective, as long as the viewership numbers are strong in a particular version of the game (Tests, ODIs, T20s) it makes sense to advertise in that event. Each version brings its own loyal fans (The connoisseurs for Tests, the people with a bit more time on their hands for ODIs, and the wham-bam-thank-you-ma’am crowd for the T20s). So, although there are overlaps, you do cover different demographics by advertising in each of the 3 versions of the game. As a businessperson, you’d want to cover as wide a range of potential customers as you can.

Thus, in this perspective, I believe that all three flavors of Cricket can co-exist.

The Fan’s View

There are people like me who watch all three forms of Cricket, and appreciate the differences between each and every one of them. In my opinion, the three flavors are essentially about the following three styles:

• Tests - Resilience, patience, mind games, technique, mental strength , following a plan and will power.
• ODIs – Aggression, resilience, the ability to make a comeback after making a mistake, and more patience than in a T20, but less than that in a Test.
• T20s - Super aggression, quick and fast action, perfection (you make one mistake and you don’t have enough time to make up for it).

As you will notice, each flavor of the game is testing something different in a player’s repertoire. Some players are able to easily adjust themselves to the needs of each type of the game. Some take longer, while some just cannot adjust!

Glamor bug bites some: Cheerleaders make an entry into Cricket via T20s

T20s test your mental makeup to a certain extent but it’s all about whether you can hit the ball a long way in a pressure situation, or bowl the kind of deliveries that the big-hitters cannot hit.  If a team gets off to a great start in the first 10 overs, it’s generally tough for the bowling team to make a comeback, and they can only expect to mount a counter when they come out to bat. Other than that, the T20s bring a lot of glamor into the game. They bring in the big Bollywood stars, the cheerleaders, the excitement and the non-stop action that a person bitten by the glamor bus wants!

ODIs are all about  the middle overs (15-35). If a team gets away at the start, the bowling team can still apply pressure on the batting team by strangling the runs. Conversely, if the batting team has a bad start, they can still stabilize the team in the middle overs by not losing wickets and scoring efficiently in the middle overs. You always have a chance of coming back into the game in the middle overs, or at the end. A bad start does not condemn you to losing the game.

Tests are all about comebacks and the fighting spirit. Any team can come back to counter the other during a game owing to the fact that there really are no restrictions! There’s no batting restrictions or bowling restrictions! Everyone has an opportunity to come back. It is the one form that really tests your character and whether you’re really up to it. It tests a player’s conditioning, both physical and mental. After spending 2 days out fielding in the sun, can an opening batsman come out and play well? Consider a wicketkeeper’s plight: 2 days of squatting in the sun, ball after ball after ball, and if he’s an opening batsman too, that’s one of the toughest asks in the game!

From a fan’s perspective, I believe that each form of the game brings something different to the table. It’s like tasting a burger, a five course meal and a hot and spicy Indian delicacy. Each is different, and if you develop the taste for each of them, you’ll put them on your menu every now and then, for sure!

Conclusion

Each form of the game brings something new to the table. Each is different. From an Advertiser’s perspective, each flavor will get his money as long as there is a market for it. Since each type caters to a different demographic, it makes sense to advertise in every form.

From a fan’s perspective, if you like a certain type, you’ll follow it. But since each type tests something different in a player, it might appeal to a wider audience if it was marketed correctly. The game’s organizers and the broadcasters need to bill their series’ in way that educates the public about what each style of Cricket is about. This is the best way of ensuring the survival of Tests, ODIs and T20s.