Tennis fans were in for a rude shock over the weekend when Asian Channel- Star Sports decided to telecast the Paes-Damn doubles match at Wimbledon over the much anticipated and eagerly awaited third round encounter between Roger Federer and Marat Safin. It’s a little tough to find any semblance of rationale in the manner in which this choice was made. The channel then telecast the Sania-Peer doubles match, without giving any importance to the Federer-Safin match.

Tennis websites across the world mentioned the Federer-Safin match as the featured match of the day as well as a prominent match for the first week of the tournament. Here are some of the reasons why I think the channel decided to telecast the doubles matches over both the Federer and Serena matches.

1. The channel thought that a match featuring an Indian was a reason good enough for telecasting it and giving it a greater importance than a match featuring the four-time defending champion.

2. So what if Sania lost in singles, a doubles match featuring her would be good enough to sky-rocket the viewership of the tournament.

3. A sudden awakening of “Star Sports’ “political consciousness” in promoting the Indo-Israel and as an after thought the Indo-Czech Republic relations.

4. Federer is anyway going to win the title, so we can directly telecast the final?

Hope the channel does not repeat these sort of choices for the coming rounds and keep in mind that tennis enthusiasts in India do want to watch players other than Paes, Bhupathi and Sania.

What these moments are in essence is impossible to say although one can surmise that there are certain factors that need to be present. A degree of tension and notion of the unexpected are required while variables such as an undercurrent, hero to villain character role or rivalries renewed only add to the mix. Over the past few weeks I have had the fortune to experience a few occasions when the problems of the world and sundry get put on hold, utterly irrelevant to be brutally forthright, as a manic unearthly sound resembling “Yeeeeeeeeeees” is gushed forward.
The first of these cherished moments started in the unlikely surrounds of a chilly front room by a 28 inch box that transmitted, albeit complemented by constant fuzz, the finale of Irelands Six Nations Championship. It was the dishevelled “morning after” and we righteously tucked into the Championships sponsor’s best, hoping beyond hope that our nation’s warriors would catapult themselves to the 6 Nations title whilst captivating us in the process. We were not to be disappointed until the final seconds of Frances compelling victory against the Scots. By then captivation had turned into stir crazy frenzy as we watched with an unblinking eye. Ireland thrilled and excited in the best 40 minutes of rugby this nation has ever produced ironically killing their hopes with the “try or bust” mantra that had put us to within touching distance. Dennis Hickie’s second try stupefied us with happiness and glee on this most patriotic of days- it almost seemed to be fate. Only for a bravado which bordered on naivety in the dying seconds that glorious try, in an utterly wonderful display, would have been the coup de grace that would have delivered the championship. Alas it was not to be. France abetted by a Northern Irish television judge claimed the crown. We claimed the moral victory. As it turned out the thrill of watching your country defy the odds on St Patrick’s Day did not end there. Instead our motley crew of charlatan cricketers delivered a result against Pakistan that shook the earth (and in the fall-out one fans sanity) and had us cynical Irish clambering aboard the most unexpected of bandwagons. Cries of “Easy, easy” rang around the heaving venue of The Barge in Ranelagh as the required runs were delivered with more than a touch of panache. These were heady days for any sports fans, over indulgent even, for me it was bliss.

The following day, emotionally drained, I headed to Goodison Park- the home of my true love Everton Football Club. They were entertaining Arsenal in a match that would not decide any silverware but would nevertheless have a huge bearing on Everton’s season. A win and a money-spinning European place was firmly within our grasp. After watching the razzmatazz on Sky Sports “Super Sunday” nauseously over hype Arsenal for an hour, while unsurprisingly discount us as merely well organised and hard working, we left the homely surrounds of The Winslow pub with countless other riled blues taking our wooden seats in the aging stadium creating a creaking clanking orchestra in the process.

Emphasis again how important Europe was to the club’s future aspirations. As it turned out our seats had us pitted beside John Morrison from the Wirral. John was an unemployed, balding, single, thirty-something, who had been a season ticket holder for 24 years. How he put himself through the torture, aside from chain smoking, only his pate could answer. He continued to be forthright with us and the team for that matter, with unreserved barracking upon any hint of a mistake. The game typified the league it represented – hotly contested, physical and full of honest endeavour. Goal mouth action was aplenty but neither team, particularly Everton had a killer instinct to capitalise on excellent build up play, a trait that would not be uncommon to John and his fellow season ticket holders. That all changed in the 93rd minute. With the hail pelting down relentlessly and the wind abetting it in its quest to hit us flush in the face Everton won a corner. We stood behind the goal, the weather only one of the factors for our hand rubbing and shivering. Basque magician Mikel Arteta whipped the ball over and after a melee in the crowded box the ball rebounded to Everton’s record signing Andy Johnson. His first shot of the day was arrowed on the half volley into the back of the Arsenal net- cue delirium. It was a joyous haze that replaced the hail as the stadium shook to the rafters erupting in a deafening chorus of random chants emanating from varying places – the normally serene family enclosure encapsulating the disbelief with their vociferous cheering. John was a distance of two seats from me but at that moment we were worlds apart. It was a feeling that was ubiquitous and isolated at the one time. The thrill derived from separate personal variables, his undoubtedly more powerful, yet both immeasurably satisfying. On the journey home I mused what it was that set the touch fire alight in these instances. I could not pin point it but rather settled on viewing sport for me, as the sage Kipling once wrote of his love; poetry, “as the wind that blows away the dust of every day life.” You see the thing is these sporting moments that have the “X factor” all have some thing that makes you feel better about yourself. I firmly believe that you reach a point at which you have to view your life through the things you’ve spent so much time doing. The alternative is a depressing feeling of waste. Just ask Mr. Morrison from the Wirral.

Paul Bassett

Paul is a guest writer and will offer a truly english flavor to our site. Expect more articles from him….

The Format

When the organizing committee of the Cricket World Cup (CWC2007) came up with the present format, it was hailed by one and all. “We give a chance to the minnows, polish them off and have a proper world cup in the 92 format among the 8 major teams”, they said. Most people nodded. One thing, however, that people didn’t reckon was about the impact of an upset.

The pair of Saturday’s upsets has created havoc in the world cup schedule. Ireland are most probably through to the super eight, and Bangladesh will also be fancying their chances. However, it is unlikely that the minnows can consistently sustain their form, and this means that their games in the super eight will be rendered useless. Another upset, and England’s poor form could actually render the whole super eight exercise to a sham!

The Value of an Upset

The financial value of an upset is huge. If (god forbid) India fail to qualify for the super eight, Sony Entertainment Television (already smarting under the feed sharing ordinance and late night matches) stands to lose a huge amount of money in terms of advertising revenue. This would be an utterly crippling blow to the bouquet of channels, something it will take a long time to recover from.

Inzy’s head is set to roll. He is most likely to be stripped off captaincy. There will be large scale changes in the Pakistan team. With Pakistan being Pakistan, some team members might actually be Escobared (Update (21-Mar): Woolmer has already died, and with the post-mortem report saying “suspicious”, we might already have an Escobar). The same is likely to be repeated in India if we could see some similar scenes here (no Escobar, though).

Then, most of the team members are brand ambassadors of various brands. These brands are likely to lose heavily thanks to the exit. Carefully crafted advertising campaigns will come to nought. Then, there are a large number of firms who rely on events such as the World Cup to boost sales. Offers are already flooding the market from various durable manufacturers, especially television. All these will come a cropper, with the hardest hit probably being Tata SKY.

The impact of the upset will not be restricted to the upset countries alone. With a large number of super eight matches turning meaningless, gate receipts (which are already not much) will dwindle. In-stadia advertising will decline. If they have already been sold, the people who currently hold the rights stand to lose.

People who were planning to Caribbean to watch the super eight might now suddenly cancel their plans, with their favorite teams out of the world cup. Tourism in the islands (which has already been hit thanks to a hefty visa fee) will be hit further. There are already heavy protests that they impoverished governments have spent too much for the World Cup. The protests will increase, and we might see a few Caribbean governments falling.

Clearly, the total costs of an upset are huge. Enormous.

It is amazing that the organizers never took into account an upset and the huge costs the current format brings to the various stakeholders. The committee should’ve devised a format where the odd upset wouldn’t have had a major impact on the tournament so early (like Zimbabwe beating India in 1999).

That said and done, nothing much can be done now. The format has been fixed and the upsets have been made. Still there is a ray of hope. Can’t the losers from the upset compensate the winner and overturn the decision? Can we try and salvage as much as possible from the current situation?

One illegal and immoral solution

It is clear that Ireland is in the super eight, so nothing can be done about that. However, there is still a ray of hope in group B (india’s group). I know it is illegal, but wouldn’t it make sense for a consortium of say SET, Tata SKY, LG and maybe tourism departments of West Indian governments to offer money to Bangladesh and ask them to lose to Bermuda? “you have done a fantastic job so far in the world cup. You’ve beaten India. Must be a very proud moment for your country. Can you please take this money now and leave, so that the rest of the world cup can go on? We would be better off without you!”

You might say this is scandalous. I don’t disagree. You will say it’s illegal. Of course it is. It will bring the game into disrepute. Yes. However, market forces and economics dictate that I do this. That this group (ok let’s leave the Caribbean governments out) offer money to Bangladesh to lose to Bermuda. On a purely financial basis, everyone will be better off!

Is there a legal solution to this problem? I mean, if you keep offering money to the underdogs to lose, aren’t you infringing on sporting spirit? What is the use of a tournament then? And why restrict it to cricket, I know that the Chennai Open lost a lot of money after Nadal was upset. Couldn’t all his opponents have been offered money to make sure he went to the finals?

One legal solution

Sadly, this solution can’t be implemented right now, but the parties concerned might want to look at this from the next tournament (starting with say the French Open; or maybe the Euro 2008 qualifiers) onwards. It is not a complete solution, but at least it helps the parties concerned mitigate the loss caused by the upset. It is the fine financial art of hedging.

By buying broadcast rights for a major tournament such as a world cup, you are unwittingly betting on the results of a few matches. Betting that the country where you’ll broadcast will do well. Betting that there aren’t too many major upsets. Betting that results will follow a certain pattern. You know you can’t affect the results, so the next best thing is to hedge!

Go to Ladbrokes, and take the opposite position. Bet, and bet well so as to limit your losses in case some results don’t go according to plan. Maybe you’re not very good at betting, and after all it’s not your core competence. Not to worry. I’m sure some good investment banker would come up with a product with returns linked to the results of a few matches. He will provide you a product with which all the implicit bets you’ve taken will be hedged. And he will go to Ladbrokes and hedge his position by taking positions there. And charge you a small premium for it. Beautiful, isn’t it?

 

This could have major ramifications across Europe since Platini had advocated to limit each Country’s participation in the lucrative Champions League to 3 teams. His controversial slogan during the campaign was ‘giving football back to the footballers’ . Besides this, some of his other radical plans were to Expand the European Championship from 16 to 24 finalists and that clubs should field at least six players qualified to play for the country they’re based in[Arsenal fans are pissing in their pants].

Lennart Johansson, the former incumbent, had agreed to increase the participation in the European Championship- A last ditch attempt to placate the smaller nations like San Marino and Lithuania who have as many votes as Spain in an election. It didn’t save his job but it was indicative of the way the smaller nations felt about the direction of the current administration. The proposal to mandate home based players could affect the way moneybags such as Chelsea, Arsenal and Real play the game. At the moment, Arsenal would find it hard to field a single English player.

Platini may have taken Robin Hood route to victory- take from the rich and give to the poor but are his policies feasible? As a fan, I would hate it. To have just three from the top leagues means that atleast 3 very good teams will miss out on the competition, and that could be an Arsenal or a Barcelona. Platini’s claim is that wealth distribution would level the playing field. Yes, it would but would you want it at the expense of 4/5 years of mediocrity?

Its fascinating to see whether this would goad the European top cartel, read the G-14, to breakaway and form their own format and spell the end for various Leagues in Europe. It would centralise the money and the power in the game but also impoverish your neighborhood football team, who have just made it to the English Third Division. That is precisely the situation that Platini wants to avoid but may unknowingly trigger with his pro-poor policies.

The self proclaimed Bull in a china shop may be getting a dose of reality in a few days when the powerbrokers in Europe come calling. It will be interesting to see if he answers their call!

Before the advent of these infinite news channels, ESPNStar came up with the concept of an hour of sports news, half an hour in English called Sportsline on Star Sports followed by an identical version in Hindi on ESPN. The timings were also pretty conducive to my viewing, 7:30 to 8:30, ideal for post dinner watching at IITM. Sportsline was impressively anchored by one of the few admirable Australians, Jason Dasey and despite the obvious and necessary bias for cricket, did cover the other sports also adequately. Sportsline and Jason Dasey were both pretty good hits I think. ( why else would ESPNStar come up with ads having aam junta recognise Jason Dasey on the roads? )

While this was going smoothly, for some inexplicable reason the languages were reversed. Sportsline became the Hindi version and Sportscenter became the English one. As a result, to me 7:30 to 8 now became the time to watch some comedy on Star World as the English version was the more impressive one. Slowly and sadly, both Jason Dasey and Sporsline got phased away to be replaced by the crap that is shown now.

Lousy Shows

Now-a-days, there is only Sportscenter, two versions, one tailor made for India, in Hindi and the other the Asian edition in English. The Hindi version is abysmal, the equivalent of a sporting Slimes of India. Take yesterday’s example. Instead of showing the highlights of the wickets first up, what they showed was an “exclusive” Indian team celebration in the dressing room. And these were the same guys who criticised the Indian team even during the victory against the Rest of SA team, claiming that Rest of SA was a third string team. There is unnecessary harping on the part that Ganguly played in the match. Agreed it was important, but Zaheer’s and Laxman’s performances were also equally important. There seems to be a lack of balance in their reporting, just the extremes and a lot of sensationalisation as well. One of the anchors, Anand Narasimhan is atleast ok, the other guy just plain sucks. Yesterday he said the word “aitihasic” atleast 5-6 times before the first break, amateurish to say the least. Not something that I expected from ESPNStar.

Decline:

This is symptomatic of the decline in the quality of our premier Sports broadcaster. Till they won the ICC rights, they had the cricket telecast rights of only the white countries ( England, Australia, South Africa and New Zealand ) and the minnows (Bangladesh and Zimbabwe), still a majority but one that was slowly but surely being eroded by Ten Sports. They have lost the Champions League and hence have to act as if the English Premier League is the only league in the world. Last season the Champions League coverage was so so English centric and they did not even show the Spanish League live. I am sure it is only the loss of the CL rights that makes them telecast the Spanish League live this season. They have even lost the more fun WWE for the loser like TNA.

Last week, three test matches were being shown live. But unless you saw them live, there was no chance you could see glimpses of the matches outside of Sportscenter. The NZ-SL match highlights was just before the next day’s play at 2:30 am and the Ashes highlights was at 11:30 pm, too late in my opinion. What did they show from 9 to 11:30 pm? Among others, there was Ashes 2005, the crappy cricket comedy show and some classic boxing. Totally viewer unfriendly. There was also this crazy idea of showing our rape in the ODIs in two languages, must have been an MBA like me who came up with this idea to increase TRPs. As a result, some mid-week EPL matches were not shown live.

Despite all this, they still are our best sports channels, which does say a lot about the other sports channels.

-Kesavan

(Read the author’s blog at http://modestgenius.blogspot.com)

(Kesavan is an alumnus of IIT Madras and an MBA from IIM Bangalore. He is a top-notch quizzer and is currently working with a leading bank (I-bank) in Bangalore)