Posted by   on (February 5, 2011, 0:07 GMT)

I really dont mind the animated ads that come in between.....cuz wthether it is an L shaped ad or something popping out of the ground, I can atleast hear and see the cricket going on.

What really concerns me is when a wicket falls, the end and the start of an over. It is really disgusting to see an ad the second a wicket falls. At the end of an over, even before the fielder has returned the ball to the keeper, an ad is already on. The start of the over is shown while the bowler has already reached the crease. I think thats just crap.

Posted by   on (January 31, 2011, 9:43 GMT)

Right points discussed at the right time. It was completely frustrating to watch IND-SA games with bottles of soft drinks exploding out of the middle. Premium ad-free feed sounds like a great idea. However doesn't it mean we are literally paying a ransom money to free us? As a consumer who has already subscribed to the sports package, isn't it our basic right to see unadulterated cricket? I agree with the sentiment that the emotion is missing. It's what happens between the overs that's more interesting at times, than the over itself. I want to see who are talking to the captain on the field. I want to see what bowlers and fielders are doing. I want to what batsman are thinking.. That is the real fun for a passionate cricket lover. Like so many things, cricket is drowning under the flood of money in India.

Posted by   on (January 30, 2011, 7:04 GMT)

Phew, I am going to be one relieved cricket fan. I know this is just a talk show, but at least it brings out the major flaw in telecasting the sport in India. Well done Harsha and team.

Coverage of cricket on TV in India needs drastic improvements. There is no point in buying large screen television sets only to have more than half of the screen cut off because of the untimely ads. The I&B Ministry or whoever it is that has the power to control this must step in. We the consumers are being taken for a ride and it is high time that we put an end to this, or else we will continue to lose critical moments of a match on the screen. Far too many ads.............at the expense of action or happenings on the field is not good value.

Posted by   on (January 29, 2011, 0:16 GMT)

Sambit finally saying what we are all thinking. Explosions in the grass, banners behind the keeper when the ball is being bowled, L-Shaped adds, cutting into add time 3 seconds after a dismissal.. these things are just wrong. It takes the emotion of the game away. I would LOVE nothing more than paying a premium every month to watch un-adultrated cricket. Because this is exactly what it does, takes the emotional aspect completely out. We want to see the drama. We want purpose for the actions being taken on the cricket field.

"They have no choice but to bid high" is such a stupid argument! If you cannot pay for it legally then don't bid. This is like saying that I can rob a bank to pay for an antique armchair because "I had no choice but to bid high". If this is excused, then channels will maintain this level of advertising even when they have covered their costs, just to increase their profits.

Neo Cricket, Setmax and Ten Sports were used to be the worst channels to watch live cricket, until this new channel called Ten Cricket also joined them. ESPN (Star Cricket, Star Sports) has been the most professional channel so far, they never do these intrusive advertisements and have NEVER done it before. In fact ESPN will not even show any adds during crunch situations. I hope the Indian government only sell rights to ESPN and no other channel.... I LOVE TO WATCH LIVE CRICKET ONLY ON ESPN CHANNELS!!! GO ESPN, U R DA BEST!!!

i am glad someone has finally highlighted this issue. the entire conversation about broadcasters not affording those big bidding is rubbish. if they cant afford it , there would be no bidders and that will mean bcci or icc has to sell rights for lower rate. again the broadcasters has to calculate what they charge per second. charge more per second . no one is stopping them. companies purchasing the ad slots will be happier too if there are fewer ads as the impact of each ad will be more.

another issue about broadcasting that i would like to highlight here is the time lag. i dont know if anyone else observed it but i have digital cable and there are many buildings and flats surrounding who have analog cable . there is a lag in digital providers and during matches, even before a wicket falls ( if india bowling ) or boundary scored ( if india batting ) there is cheers coming out from outside which becomes irritating for any watcher on digital quality . unacceptable time lags.

Posted by   on (January 28, 2011, 8:50 GMT)

fantastic discussion! I was frustrated watching the matches and felt helpless! Am glad there are others who are taking this up! I still have hopes for Cricket in India!

Thank you Sambit. Board has to put restrictions on number of slots for Ad and may be a min/max duration of an Ad. Harsha seems to be batting for Broadcasters talking more about the bidding and how they would lose money!! If they are smart, I don't think they would lose mone in Indian market. Like in NFL superbowl price of Ad would go thru the roof and only big companies could afford for these prime spots. And since the pay so much the quality and content of Ad would be much improved. We won't see too many re-runs of Ads. If the match gets boring, people will wait for the breaks to watch the Ad. One-Day and T20 will bring lot of money to the broadcasters. May be the test match could go Pay-per-view or subscription based.. because it is a 5 day affair and keeping a Dedicated channel makes sense.