Google Enters Deal To Show IPL Cricket On YouTube
By: Ainsley Brown
Cricket, lovely cricket…it would not be an overstatement to say that in India the love of sport of cricket is close to being if not equal to religious devotion.
The Indian Premier League (IPL) it could be argued is the hottest tournament right now in the world of cricket. The broadcasting rights are reportedly worth $1 billion over ten years for Sony and the eight teams in the league are worth an estimated $250 million. The league is so popular in India that many cinemas are forced to give up showing very popular Bollywood movies in order to meet the IPL demand.
The IPL and its shorter 20/20 version of the game are clearly not some passing fancy but a viable commercial concern.
With numbers like these is it any wonder that Google has sought out and closed a deal with the IPL. What Google knows and is demonstrating with this investment is that India is no longer some far off exotic backwater and cricket is not some obscure game with limited marketing potential. On contrary if the IPL by itself is any indication and now with this deal with Google ought to clearly show is that India and cricket are big business.
While the details of the deal are scanty it is expected that Google will stream live IPL games on YouTube when the tournament kicks off in March. Google will earn money from sponsorship and advertising.
