Published>Fri, Apr 02 10 02:31 AM
Mumbai Indians, the Reliance Industries-backed Indian Premier League cricket team, is on a roll. The franchise, on top of the IPL-3 charts, has not just emerged as the team with the strongest local support in its home city amongst all eight teams, but it is also become the favourite IPL team, nationally.
But there is a twist in the tale here, one that may humble the IPL minders who seem to be already on the 'we have done it' trip.
It is the presence of master-blaster Sachin Tendulkar, rather than any city-based loyalty that gives MI its strong traction with cricket-crazy Mumbaikars. Speak of the trials and tribulations of building a sustainable sports business around a city-specific loyal fan base.
Synovate conducted the FE-commissioned the eight-city survey amongst 406 males (18-45 years) from SEC A and B households across IPL cities--Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata, Chennai, Bangalore, Hyderabad, Jaipur and Chandigarh/Mohali -- between March 26 and 30.
According to the survey, respondents from Mumbai and Bangalore emerged as most loyal to their home IPL teams, with 88% Mumbaikars polled pledging their loyalties to Mumbai Indians while 82% of Bangalore males rooted for RCB. The IPL-1 winner, Rajasthan Royals can take heart from the fact that around three-fourths of the pink city residents stand by them, their current performance and change of home ground to Ahmedabad notwithstanding. Chennai (63%) and Kolkata (62%) also manage to sway a majority of its citizens to don their home colours.
Down South, though, Hyderabadis are less forgiving, with support for home team Deccan Chargers lowest at 49%, perhaps reflecting the jumbled state politics involving the demand for a Telangana state, as also the snub for shifting the venue to Cuttack . So too are people from Chandigarh , with just about half of them supporting the Kumar Sangakara-led team. Support for Mumbai Indians cuts across all IPL cities, with almost a third of all males nationally cheering for it.
Almost a third of respondents in Kolkata and Chennai, and around fifth in Hyderabad , Delhi and Chandigarh root for the Ambani team, second only to their city teams.
But when it comes to watching the IPL matches live in the stadium, Kolkata emerges as the leading city. In this Eastern metropolis, almost a third of those polled say they did watch an IPL-3 match at Eden Gardens , compared to just a fifth in Mumbai and Chandigarh . Overall, the survey shows that IPL has gained popularity because of star players and star team owners. "At least 50% of those who support non-home teams are blinded by star power," according to Synovate. This preoccupation with the celebrity player and owner is also borne by the fact that under 40% of respondents supporting a non-home city team do it because of it being a 'better team'.
When asked to comment on the quality of cricket being played in the IPL, a majority gave their thumbs-up. When asked "how often do you watch IPL matches on TV?" Hyderabad and Delhi emerged as the top two IPL cities with an average of 76% respondents tuning in to watch IPL matches on television everyday. However, 32% of those polled in Kolkata tend to watch IPL match only once in a week, the survey findings showed.
Source: Web Search
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