By CricketCountry Staff
Indian cricket is set to take another hit as the recently released television ratings have shown poor figures following India’s abject surrender in the first three Tests against Australia in the ongoing tour.
Published: Jan 16, 2012, 12:30 PM (IST)
Edited: Jan 16, 2012, 12:30 PM (IST)
Indian skipper MS Dhoni has a poor run with the bat in the first three Test matches against Australia © Getty Images
By CricketCountry Staff
New Delhi: Jan 16, 2012
Indian cricket is set to take another hit as the recently released television ratings have shown poor figures following India’s abject surrender in the first three Tests against Australia in the ongoing tour.
A sports viewership tracker, TAM Sports, informed that the first two matches of the four-Test series registered average ratings of 0.89 and 0.7 respectively, and the experts believe that if the trend continues, cricket won’t be able to attract the huge money it did earlier.
“If eyeballs move away from cricket over a period of time, the value for the game will depreciate. Every stakeholder will lose and it will pull the game down the value chain. Right now, cricket is still the biggest sporting property in India. But as we develop as a nation, our preferences and watching habits are bound to change,” said Sanjay Kailash, EVP & head of sales, ESPN-Star Sports was quoted as saying by the Economic Times.
The brand endorsement fees for the Indian skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni, which went up to as much as Rs. 6-7 crores, might also be get affected.
