SRK's game: Less cricket, more commerce?

The Dard-e-disco King is now becoming the Czar of cricket. From Kolkata to Mumbai, the red hot Shah Rukh Khan is not leaving any stone unturned to promote his IPL team, Knight Riders. On Thursday he was in Mumbai giving a few marketing tips of his own.

SRK is out to floor the cricketing world with his charm and marketing mantras and it seems that the Badshah of Bollywood now wants to rule the cricket charts in India as well.

The topic that was being debated on CNN-IBN's Face The Nation was — SRK's Knight Riders: Is IPL just another business for Shah Rukh Khan?

On the panel of experts to try and answer the question were: Cricketer Anjum Chopra; Ananda Bazar Patrika Sports and Entertainment Editor, Gautam Bhattacharya; and Brand Guru and CEO Harish Bijoor Consults, Harish Bijoor.

Is Cricket A Biz Model for SRK?

Most people think that King Khan is the greatest thing that has happened to Bengal cricket and that it is his star power and charisma which will ensure that the Knight Riders make a profit in the very first year.

Gautam Bhattacharya concurred with the viewpoint completely saying, "SRK is the greatest thing that has happened to Bengal cricket post Sourav Ganguly and post the successive Ranjhi final appearances. Also SRK has got the best trainer and the best physiotherapist in the world for the team."

PAGE_BREAK

Bhattacharya added that SRK had plans to open a coaching academy which would be supervised by John Buchanan.

He said that Bengal cricket had been suffering for some time now because of lazy and incompetent officials. "The team has got bad results in the Ranjhi trophy, the spectators have got tired and people were losing interest. And then came SRK like an angel to provide the healing touch for the team."

SRK As Big As Sourav Ganguly?

From Bhattacharya's comments it seemed as if SRK would ultimately prevail over the entire concept of the Indian Premiere League (IPL) as it is, not simply in Kolkata.

And Anjum Chopra agreed completely with Bhattacharya saying, "I think IPL as a concept and especially SRK are now taking cricket to the next level. IPL has not only brought together so many players who are icons but is also giving a chance to new players to showcase their talents amongst the world's best cricketers."

She said that Shah Rukh was adding to the game in terms of exposure and roping in corporates, taking the game higher. She added that it was easy for someone like SRK to attract sponsors because it was not he who needed them, but sponsors who needed him to be associated with their product.

Has Cricket Become A Product?

However, it seemed as if somewhere down the line, SRK's star power was an unfair advantage that the Kolkata team had over other IPL teams.

King Khan and Preity Zinta would probably attract more sponsors and thus be able to generate more revenue for their teams — something which may lead the other teams to try and rope in more glamourous personalities to do the same for them, and which in turn might result in a loss of focus over the game.

Harish Bijoor disagreed with this saying that glamour was just going to be a small part of IPL.

"When Shah Rukh Khan stepped into IPL as a serious contender, that moment said it all. He will obviously use his charisma and clout as a leverage with advertisers and their money. This is something which was bound to happen. And in any case, cricket had stopped being a game a long time ago. With the coming of Kerry Packer, cricket became less game and more commerce."

PAGE_BREAK

At the end of the day, people should let go of their romantic notions of cricket being a gentleman's game and instead understand that it is now a product which is being sold and auctioned in the open market.

"Cricket is like a cake of soap or any other product that is sold in the market. It is certainly going to be touted by people in business. Not just Shah Rukh Khan, even the likes of Mukesh Ambani, Vijay Mallaya and Preity Zinta are all going to treat it like a business," Bijoor said.

"This is a game that is going to deliver a great deal of value and money to the owners of individual teams," he added.

Making Mega Bucks

The man who many describe as the creator of the IPL experience itself, IPL Chairman, Lalit Modi had a few words to say on how much money the owners of teams were bound to make at the end of the first year itself.

Modi said that Shah Rukh Khan would most likely make a 100 per cent profit from what he has invested in the first year itself.

"SRK will make $7 to 10 million profit in year one of the IPL," he said.

Gautam Bhattacharya added that SRK's enthusiasm, his passion for cricket and the preparations that he is making are enough to bring in the sponsors by the dozen.

"He has prepared down to the minutest possible detail. He has prepared a team theme and he has written a booklet for the team himself, such is his zeal," he said.

SRK and Red Chillies Entertainment has spent $75 million on the team, so understandably, ticket selling is not going to be the only source of revenue generation.

Bijoor said, "Cricket is going to be a reasonably quick gestation product. If I was to be launching a soap, it would take me all of eight years to break even. Spending the king of money that one needs to spend in the Indian market, one needs to spend about Rs 120 crore a year to actually get a brand of soap going. But cricket is different. It takes only about five to six matches for the tempo to pick up and these five to six matches can excite an entire nation which is cricket besotted."

PAGE_BREAK

"I think SRK has seen the writing on the wall very clearly and he has noticed that in eight months' time, a team like Kolkata or Bangalore can actually break even. I think two years is the time when plenty of money is going to flow in," he added.

All About The Money?

The Delhi District Cricket Association (DDCA) hopes to generate Rs 7 crore by hosting seven IPL matches this year. SRK will more than double his investment in two years time, so is anyone really talking about the sport?

Bhattacharya stated that star power would not end up killing the game. "The moment the game starts, the 22 yards would be the deciding factor. People will talk about winners, new heroes and SRK and Preity Zinta will be all but forgotten," he said.

Anjum Chopra said that money was going to be a top priority, but this did not mean that cricket would be forgotten.

"At the base of it all, it is cricket which is going to develop. If cricketers don't go out there and perform and entertain crowds, then there will be no money. Unless people follow these games, there will be no money, no sponsors, nothing," she added.

Gautam Bhattacharya said that IPL was not going to revolve around Bollywood stars and celebrities. "Newer heroes are going to be created. Even older players like Rahul Dravid, Sachin Tendulkar and Sourav Ganguly are going to want to prove themselves keeping in mind the Twenty20 team," he said.

Bijoor said that SRK was going to be neither a hero or a villian as far as cricket as a sport was concerned.

"King Khan is just going to be a pure commercial entity in IPL. Expect a lot of action and a lot of gimmickery though because each team is going to try and out do the others in terms of star power," he said.

Anjum Chopra said that a hero was a hero — whether on screen or off screen. "I am sure Kolkata's Knight Riders are going to be one of the better teams in IPL," she stated.

At the end of the debate it seemed that cricket seems to have really evolved over the years. Whether it has grown into something bigger or better is something people will get to know once the IPL tournament kicks off.