Feed Posted May 10, 2008 Share Posted May 10, 2008 The IPL reached its halfway point yesterday, and its average live audience in India is equivalent to the number of people who watched India play Pakistan in the final of the World Twenty20 Championships in South Africa last year, writes Simon Briggs. More... IPL proves a big hit with TV audiences By Simon Briggs Last Updated: 12:43am BST 10/05/2008 Sachin Tendulkar, speaking to commentators during an Indian Premier League match on Wednesday, claimed: "The IPL has taken the game to virtually every house in the world." This may be an exaggeration, but the competition has certainly made a strong start in the battle for television viewers. The IPL reached its halfway point yesterday, and its average live audience in India is equivalent to the number of people who watched India play Pakistan in the final of the World Twenty20 Championships in South Africa last year. Andrew Georgiou, chief executive of World Sport Group, said: "The numbers are extraordinary. In India, the average figure for the season so far is enough to make Sony Max the highest-rating channel in the country." World Sport Group, who paid $1 billion for the TV rights for 10 years in partnership with Sony, have also taken responsibility for selling live IPL coverage around the world. Georgiou said: "In Australia, we had 800,000 people up in the middle of the night watching the first match live. And it's gone right off the deep end across the Middle East, where there's a huge Indian population." For all the IPL's glamour, the competition is still light-years away from challenging football as a global draw. But give it time. One franchise owner showed a touch of Premier League-style ruthlessness on Tuesday, when Charu Sharma, chief executive of the Bangalore Royal Challengers, was sacked for his team's poor performance Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cricketman Posted May 10, 2008 Share Posted May 10, 2008 Awesome. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bobbydhillon Posted May 11, 2008 Share Posted May 11, 2008 cricket would \never ever even get close of football in popularity no matter how much time u give , unless indian population is 80 percent of world population lol Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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