It is official. Initial reports indicate that IPL 2 is not as hot as the first edition. The television rating meters have spoken and the first day ratings are down by nearly 30 per cent from last year. Now, television ratings are the fuzziest of categories, but in an industry which lives and dies by them, the tyranny of the television meters is unquestioned. As such, the first trends for IPL -2 are not encouraging. Of course, this could change in the days ahead but if viewers did not tune in when the hype was at its highest, it is difficult to believe how this will change substantially over the next 32 days. In some ways, IPL-2 was always going to be an uphill battle from the moment the decision was taken to shift it to foreign climes. No matter how much propaganda Lalit Modi invested in, no matter how many Bollywood stars were prancing to his tune and no matter how many corporate leaders were listed on his roster, the life and blood of the IPL experiment has always been the great Indian public. Without the oxygen of the sub-continental fervour for cricket, IPL-2 would always have struggled. It undoubtedly still remains a huge newsmaker and a major advertising platform, but somehow last year’s zing is missing.

At a basic level, the IPL has been a victim of poor timing, poor location, too much hype, and yes, arrogance. South Africans love their cricket but their rugby season has already begun and much as the BCCI would like it, the weather gods are not dancing to the smell of Indian rupees. IPL-2 may have pulled off a logistical coup in organising the South African tourney but at the end of the day the viewers are not paying to watch the administrative machinations of the organisers. They are paying for good cricket. This was at the heart of the IPL’s grand success last year, but when rain becomes as important a factor as the players, then it is time to hit the panic button. As any good advertiser knows, nothing kills a bad product more than good advertising.

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