Time to press the mute button
Has the IPL taken cricketainment too far
Tariq Engineer
25-Feb-2013
Has the IPL taken cricketainment too far? Writing on Firstpost.com, Abhilasha Khaitan thinks so, saying the mix of sport and entertainment has reached the point of ridiculousness.
Mr Modi may tut-tut-tweet about dipping IPL ratings, but the fall has little to do with the absence of his brilliance. One is, obviously, the overdose of cricket. I mean, we all have jobs to do, wages to earn. Two is, though I have no scientific research to back my theory, the increasingly ridiculous packaging of the tournament has much to do with viewer apathy. Who would waste time to hear Sidhu say this: “They have dug their own grave with their teeth and god gives the toothless nuts to chew on,” a comment he made after Kochi Tuskers lost against Delhi Daredevils. Funny, you think? I have seen housewives and children (the supposed target audience of such tomfoolery) switch to other channels when the tamasha brigade takes centre stage.
Dumbing down is so passé a content strategy that even Bollywood has taken note. When will the cricket broadcasters wake up to this change?
Tariq Engineer is a former senior sub-editor at ESPNcricinfo