Indian Premier League and Cricket News by IPL Cricket Forum

IPL has been gaining daily popularity and is now the most popular event not only in India but in many places. The supporting of teams will very soon reach cult proportions. The greatest benefit we think is getting rid of the staple diet of saas bahu type serials and soaps served to Indian Viewers since long. When the entire world is moving towards realty shows and innovative formats we saw Indian Television dishing out a whole bunch of rotten and stinking serials based on age old family melodrama with predictable twists and turns and with a simple intention of pulling it towards infinity.

The viewers could do nothing except digest that over rotten food similar to the food handed over to prisoners who have no other option but to gulp it down. Yes, occasionally we saw a breeze of fresh air like an ugly betty or a American idol clone but the saas bahu type survived given the long standing nexus between the producer, programming head and a bunch of plastic actors. Even scripts and sets were guided by advertisers and TV channels old or new always wanted to tread the proven path and no one ever had the guts to step out on the road less traveled.

IPL came in such a scenario and captured all hearts, minds and eyeballs irrespective of age, class or sex. Starting from the housewife to the office goer, the college and school kids, girls, women, men everyone got crazy and waited anxiously with crossed finger for the next match. Cricket and Movies have always ruled the Indian mind and is a prime driver. So with IPL, all popular channels and particularly those whose dependence was most on this over-rot serials got washed away pretty fast.

As of now every one is effected — be it Sony, Star or Zee - all of them and Star is trying desperately to break away with a Quiz show with SRK which will probably succeed provided there is no time clash with IPL . Of course channels will claim that they are not affected - but a close look at the fine print will always show that such data is for a insignificant span of time over an insignificant mass and an insignificant age-group and based on something called TAM which operates the people-meter here with even less than 0.1 percent coverage of the TV viewing public. Indeed funny how such a thing can be even be considered as a benchmark.

We sincerely believe that IPL will break all records mostly due to the format of the Game which is as close to a Realty show as possible plus the band-wagon of Bollywood stars attached with the event.

There is a possibility that we will have the real option to put a finishing nail to this stinking trail of Indian Television Soaps finally.

© IPL Cricket Forum.