Indian Premier League and Youtube

The Indian Premier League (IPL) is a professional cricket league created and promoted by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) and backed by the International Cricket Council (ICC).

With a brand value currently estimated in excess of US$4.1bn (1), IPL is one of the largest sporting leagues in the world. Featuring international cricketing stars playing 59 matches over a 44 day tournament, its compelling combination of sporting action and Bollywood glamor has captured the imagination of Indian and international audiences alike.

India has a huge expatriate population living across different countries. Although many don't have access to cable television because of being constantly on the move, almost everybody has access to the internet due to most being part of the software industry. IPL organizers wanting to target this segment saw Internet as the best way to reach them. Also the fact that IPL has players from almost all cricketing nations across the world, internet seemed the perfect way for multi national companies to increase their brand visibility globally. Thus the IPL organizers in collaboration with Youtube broadcasted the entire 2010 tournament live on Youtube, a first for any sporting event.

The results? A staggering response from the fans. By the end of the tournament, YouTube was reporting 55.7 million channel views and 31.7 million Video on Demand views. With over 93,000 subscribers, the channel was rated as the "#1 Most Subscribed Channel (All Time) - India"(2). Fans from over 200 countries watched IPL 2010 on YouTube – India had the most views, with the United States in second place.

Sources:
(1) http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/news-by-industry/media/entertainment-/entertainment/IPL-brand-value-doubles-to-413-billion-Brand-Finance/articleshow/5713065.cms
(2) http://www.youtube.com/user/IPL