Investors who paid top dollar to own a part of the Indian Premier League (IPL) opportunity are now on a good wicket.
Franchise owners expect to earn around four-five times more this year than they did during the inaugural season of the 20-over league in 2008, thanks to a deluge of sponsorships and brand associations, according to estimates put together by Mint after speaking with franchise owners and media buyersThis comes after initial reports that sponsors and advertisers were sceptical about IPL’s success this year, when it had to be moved to South Africa after the Indian government said it could not provide security cover to the league during the election season, and that many had walked away from earlier commitments.
The team owners will also earn significantly more from the new broadcast deal the IPL management signed with sports marketing company World Sports Group (WSG) and Multi Screen Media Pvt. Ltd (MSM) this year. Last year, the deal had been signed for around Rs4,000 crore for 10 years, while this year it was renegotiated at Rs8,200 crore for nine years.
While the three partners did not share the details of the new broadcast deal officially, two executives from IPL and WSG said that the new deal has been linked with IPL’s viewership. IPL’s management may only get 33% of the contracted revenues for the first five years. Franchisees will get 80% of this 33%.
Based on this, the eight franchisees are likely to take home between Rs60 crore and Rs90 crore each. Last year, the teams earned Rs20 crore each from broadcast rights.
Source – livemint.com

On the eve of the second season of Indian Premier League (IPL), the duration of the strategy break has increased from five minutes to
seven-and-a-half minutes. The strategy break is taken after every ten overs. Sources familiar with the development said five minutes in all of the total seven and a half minutes will be free commercial time (FCT) with the balance being live content.

The idea behind introducing this break is to give teams time to evaluate their strategy. However, advertisers are not willing to pay the same spot rates, as what is paid for other breaks, according to media buyers. The reason for this is that viewership is expected to fall by as much as 70% during this long-break.

Commenting on the strategy break, Rohit Gupta, president (network sales), Multi Screen Media (MSM) said: “As of now, we cannot be sure how long the break is going to be because matches are live. Some part of the strategy break will be used for advertising, but we will have to telecast the strategy discussions live.”

The total FCT is at about 2,600 seconds per match. Those in the business say the seven and half minutes will be split in three parts of two and half minutes each. While the first and third part will air commercials, the one in between will be from the ground.

“The response to spots on IPL has been encouraging. If the break is longer, viewership will drop and advertisers, therefore, will not pay the same amount,” said a media buyer.

Currently, a 10-second spot for IPL is being sold at about Rs 3 lakh. MSM has paid about Rs 4,920 crore for the telecast rights of IPL for a nine-year period.

The global media rights for the tournament were sold to the World Sport Group for Rs 8,200 crore earlier this year.
Source – economictimes.indiatimes.com

The elite Indian Premier League gets to experience Sol Kerzner’s newest luxury hotel in Cape Town, writes K S Shekhawat.The world was already in meltdown mode when Sol Kerzner hosted what is probably the party of the decade, in September 2008, to launch The Palm, Dubai, the Kerzner group’s luxury resort at The Palm, Jumeirah. Hollywood and Bollywood A-listers, including Shah Rukh Khan, attended the glamorous opening, and it’s almost certain that even as you read this, Khan will probably have had his eyeful of the Victoria & Albert Waterfront from the One&Only Cape Town, Kezner’s latest luxury offering and the base for the elite IPL during its outing in South Africa.

Opened earlier this month, One&Only Cape Town is Kezner’s second property in his homeland – the first was the Palace of the Lost City in Pilanesberg in 1992, following which he went on to develop the Atlantis brand, which includes Atlantis, Paradise Island, a 2,900-room ocean-themed destination resort in The Bahamas. With luxury properties around the world, including the One&Only brand in select resort markets, Kelzner’s future developments include the construction of a 600-room, destination casino resort in Morocco that will open later this year to introduce yet another hospitality brand to the market.

What the key IPL team staying at One&Only Cape Town will experience includes three two-storey 800-sq m residential penthouses of four bedrooms each, with individual terraces and pools. According to Sol Kerzner, chairman and CEO of Kerzner International, the hotel’s “bold, contemporary design…make it one of the world’s leading luxury resort destinations”. Designed by Cape Town-based architects Dennis Fabian & Berman and Ruben Reddy as a seven-storey property overlooking the city’s waterfront district, its interiors have been created by New York-based Adam D Tihany.

What the cricket fraternity will experience are two of Cape Town’s most extraordinary restaurants for the first time ever on that continent — Gordon Ramsay’s seafood restaurant Maze, and Nobuyuki Matsuhisa’s award-winning Japanese restaurant Nobu. And feeding the senses will be artworks and sculpture — besides the commissioned art for the hotel, its mezannine level will house the contemporary art gallery Goodman Gallery in which artworks will be rotated six times a year and will feature emerging talent in photography, painting as well as sculpture.

The permanent display, however, includes three bronze sculptures in the lobby by Deborah Bell, Norman Catherine’s screens on either side of the reception area, and paintings by Walter Oltmann. Those who have contributed to the vast display of art in the restaurants, other public areas and suites include Berni Searle, Brett Murray, Paul Edmunds, as well as iconic South African artists Conrad Botes, Willem Boshoff, Andrew Putter, Guy Tillim, Jeremy Wafer, David Goldblatt and Peter Clarke.

Kezner says he wanted the resort to be designed in a way that was “contemporary whilst still drawing heavily on the rich African culture and heritage that has so greatly influenced my life”. He adds, “Much of the resort is inspired by my own love of Cape Town.” The resort captures the mood and spirit of modern South Africa while remaining faithful to its traditional culture, and has been designed to be part of the waterfront. Says Tihany, who designed the interiors, “In the four years we worked on this project, we lived the site, breathed the air, met the people, and absorbed the richness and variety that Cape Town has to offer — from nature to art to food and wine” — all of which have inspired the overall design.

The views of the waterfront from the lobby are rooted in the discreet sandstone floors and overall cream tones. An Africa-inspired metal balustrade separates the lobby from a lower lounge adorned with dark brown carpeting and Africa-inspired rugs. Gordon Ramsay’s restaurant uses chocolate brown walnut wood with materials in tones such as forest green and burgundy. Nobu’s fine dining concept is highlighted by a textured, translucent origami light fixture .

The Marina Rise block houses the Presidential and Imperial Suites, both spanning over 2,730 square feet in red, brown and terracotta, complemented by touches of tropical green. Doors, windows and baseboards are in natural African oak wood, while bathroom furniture is stained a dark coffee. The Presidential Suite has a central dining area that is anchored with a series of six glass roundels by Conrad Botes. This South African uses a technique of painting on the reverse side of glass to achieve luminous images. The Imperial Suite has a wall sculpture by Willem Boshoff, South Africa’s best-known sculptor and conceptual artist.

Bridges link Marina Rise with two lush islands, one of which houses 40 villa suites, the other the resort’s spa. These suites and villas are in natural sand, brown and earthy green shades. Parquet floors in African caramel coloured Kiatt wood lead to the dressing area and bathroom.

They may enjoy the fireplaces and artworks and fine dining, but whether the IPL teams party at One&Only Cape Town will depend on the success of the tournament — else, there’s the landscaped spa in which to soak off their pains.
business-standard.com

The second IPL season has been insured for a total of $286 million, more than double that of the $125-million cover last season, and includes provisions for acts of terrorism and cancelled matches. It also includes ten-fold increases, in some cases, in individual covers.

MS Dhoni, captain of Chennai Super Kings, attracts the highest individual insurance cover of $10.5 million, while Sanath Jayasuriya of the Mumbai Indians is the highest insured among overseas players, for around $6 million. The package takes into account all 120 auctioned players as well a few non-auctioned players.

The cost in premiums to the franchises is around $430,000 each.

The original plan – formulated when the tournament was to be held in India – involved a total insurance package of $219-263 million negotiated by the BCCI, broadcasters Sony Entertainment Television (SET) and the eight franchisees. That package included a $120-154 million cover for match cancellation due to standard perils, a $87-million cover for the BCCI against terror attacks and personal accident insurances for individual players.

“The sum assured has been higher this time around with the tournament moving overseas,” Reena Bhatnagar, deputy general manager of Oriental Insurance Corporation (OIC), the IPL’s insurers, told Cricinfo. “The details of the package are similar to those signed last year, and will provide covers not just due to terrorism, but take into account other factors like accidents during travel, flights etc as well.”

The width of the individual player insurance covers – the figures are decided by the franchises – ranges from $2.5 million to $10.5 million. Dhoni commands the highest, followed by Sachin Tendulkar, Sourav Ganguly and Yuvraj Singh. “That Dhoni has been placed above Tendulkar or Ganguly, is entirely their [franchises’] perception,” Bhatnagar said. “It is the IPL organizers who then decide and provide us the values.”

The new figures are more than six times those for the previous season, when the individual covers ranged from $380,000 and $1 million. Dhoni still led the pack, with Tendulkar, Ganguly and Andrew Symonds following behind. The policies for non-auctioned and junior players were between $120-250,000.

The entire package is totally reinsurance-driven, meaning that OIC would seek to protect itself with other insurance companies against the risk of losses during the tournament. “With such a large package signed up, it was beyond the capacity of the Indian insurers,” Bhatnagar said. “We had to travel the reinsurance route and tap the London market.”

A match cancellation cover includes non-payment by sponsors and broadcasters in case a match gets cancelled. It also insures budget match expenses, or the expenses incurred by franchisees for preparing the stadium field. The loss of baggage cover means that players will be paid the cost of their belongings, in case they misplace them during the course of the tournament. The policies will be effective from the time the players leave for the tournament till they return home.

The IPL’s second edition will be played from April 18- May 24, spanning 37 days
Source – content.cricinfo.com

When Shane Warne returns to competitive cricket with the Rajasthan Royals in the Indian Premier League (IPL) tonight (Australian time), he will be doing so in an unfamiliar climate.

The Australian retired from international cricket more than two years ago, but South African crowds who flock to catch a piece of the IPL action will not have forgotten his exploits against the Proteas.

For years the legspinner tormented South African batsmen and their fans, so it will be interesting to see the type of reception reserved for Warne when he leads out his franchise in their opening game against Bangalore Royal Challengers.

“The public have booed me most of the time but hopefully playing with the Rajasthan Royals they’ll get behind me,” Warne told the Sunday Times.

“Hopefully when I come on to bowl I’ll get a clap, or a cheer or whistle.”

Warne’s wiles were largely responsible for Rajasthan’s fairytale opening season, when they swept to victory after spending the least money at the inaugural IPL auction.

His astute captaincy endeared him to fans around India, but questions remain as to whether he will have the same effect in a country where for many years he was all but despised.

Adding to the intrigue is the presence in the Royals ranks of Proteas captain Graeme Smith, who regularly engaged Warne in verbal jousts at international level.

This coming together of former rivals is the basis on which the IPL thrives, but Warne insists that the duo get along well and sees Smith as being crucial to Royals’ success on South African turf.

“We had a few beers after the first game (of the 2008 IPL) and chatted about a lot of stuff,” Warne said.

“We hung out a fair bit. We’ve kept in touch since then and become good buddies.

“I think he enjoys the IPL as well, just having the opportunity and the freedom to go out and bat without the responsibility of anything else.

“For us, being in South Africa and having the captain of South Africa in our side is a huge advantage.”
Source – abc.net.au