Play Station

Published>Sun, Mar 14 10 07:07 AM

The IPL action is not just limited to the cricket field this year

With the return of the Indian Premier League (IPL) to the country, this season promises to be action-packed, both on and off the field. The tournament, which began on March 12, will see not just a remarkable increase in telecast venues, but also in the number of entertainment programmes spawning around it. With parties, reality shows, awards lined up between the matches, there's lots of glamour and excitement to draw even the non-cricket buffs' attention.

While most channels stay away from introducing new content during IPL season, this time Colors has decided to use it to its advantage by joining forces with the IPL and creating content centered around the tournament. "Football matches held abroad and the Super Bowl are known to offer entertainment during the breaks. This is the first time in India that someone is doing anything along similar lines," says Ashwini Yardi, programming head of Colors, running through the new listings: IPL Rockstars , which is a reality contest where singers will perform live at the stadium right before the match, the IPL Awards that will be held after some of the matches, starry after-parties to keep the spirits high and a Khatron Ke Khiladi IPL Special, where cricketers will replace models as contestants on the new season of the reality show in October.

Television channel Set Max has roped in musical duo Vishal-Shekhar to compose a song, Laut Aaya , based on the IPL's return to India this year. "It's a melody made up of distinctly Indian notes fused seamlessly with western rock. It's a song of home-coming and of wanting to come home," says Shekhar, who has sung the song. To add some eye-candy to cricket commentary, the channel has also roped in cricket fans-turned-presenters, Gaurav Kapur, Samir Kochhar, Ayushmann Khurrana and Angad Bedi for some added zing to expert analysis.

While critics argue that all these activity off the field might steer the players' attention away from the game, many team owners beg to differ. "No one is forcing the cricketers to be part of any of these parties and shows. They are mature enough to know their priorities. All these fun additions are basically to gain more revenues from the event," says Preity Zinta, co-owner of Kings XI Punjab.

Those, who want to concentrate on the matches without any intervals and on larger-than-life screens, can rush to nearby multiplexes, which will screen the matches live. "We want to be part of alternate entertainment and this is a great way of doing that," say city's multiplex owners like Fun Cinemas, DT Cinemas and Fame Shalimar.

The IPL will also be streamed with just a five minutes deferral on YouTube for free, worldwide. Rock Mobile Communications will ensure that the subscribers get regular sms, mms and video update on their mobile phone sets while Vodafone will make it easier to buy tickets.

The virtual platform is also abuzz with content based on the IPL. Indiagames has announced a partnership with Global Cricket Ventures (GCV), the exclusive licensee of key digital, mobile and image rights to IPL, to acquire the official gaming rights to the IPL tournament. The eight-year deal will see Indiagames creating cricket-based games, which will be licensed by the IPL, across mobile and online platforms globally.

One of the key features of the online game will be a seamless integration with Facebook, allowing users to create their own teams consisting of both Facebook friends and IPL cricketers. Games will also be created for the iPhone and the yet-to-be launched iPad.

The party's just got bigger!

Source: Web Search