The richest league in cricketing world is about to commence in not more than a week and people all around the country are excited after watching India come close to laying a hand on the World Cup. The BCCI along with Set Max the official broadcaster of the IPL have come up with an Idea to attract more viewership in small towns.
IPL fan parks is the concept they have come up with so as to boost the viewership and brand value in almost upto 15 small towns. The fan parks are set to flag off along with the start of the eight season of the swashbuckling league on April 8th. In the 47 days the tournament runs, every weekend organizers will help the fans re-create the atmosphere of the stadium with giant screens at every venue hoping to fit in atleast 10000 people cheering along with full noises.
What is more intriguing is the fact that BCCI and Set Max have taken up this initiative solely to increase the brand value of the league and to attract viewership. They backed their statement that these parks are non-commercial and the entry will be free. It is estimated that this whole thing will cost atleast 20 crore .
Sundar Raman the chief operating officer of the IPL said that this is a great chance for families to watch a match especially because it is summer. He also felt that this would help many people in small towns who do not get to watch a match in a stadium to enjoy the atmosphere.
Though the exact places of these fan parks are not decided yet, the plans include the cities of Agra, Hamirpur, Coimbatore, Warangal and Udaipur. Raman felt that these are typically large towns which are not catered as much as he would have liked.
The viewership of IPL has already reached the 200 million mark and this venture will only increase the number and also the value of the brand. EVP and business head at Max, Neeraj Vyas felt that because IPL is an annual event that he could increase the number of cities by the year.