KPL has been an overall success in Season 7
September 6th, Mysore: Season 7 of the Karnataka Premier League has kept audiences at the edge of their seats. A runaway success when compared to the preceding seasons, this year saw an exponential increase in not just television viewership, but in packed stadiums and resounding support throughout the season as well.
Mr. Vinay Mruthyunjaya, Spokesperson for the KSCA, stated, “On all fronts, it has been a great season. We have witnessed some fantastic and competitive cricket all through with many close finishes and even a super-over for the first time over 7 seasons of the league. Most of us have grayed because of the tension on the field."
KPL has surged ahead both in terms of TV viewership and stadium attendance, with the kind of cricket that was played, and with the coverage Star Sports provided both in English and Kannada to an ever-increasing audience, across countries in the Asian subcontinents, UK, Singapore, US, and Canada.
The viewership for the first three matches of Karbonn KPL as compared to last year had grown 60% across India and 17% in Karnataka, where the average impressions in India (in ‘000s) have risen from 220.7 in 2017 to 353.1 and 67.4 in 2018 as compared to 57.4 in 2017 in urban viewers across the country. “Our aim is to become the most watched local league in the country and the numbers this year have shown that we are moving in the right direction” stated Mr. Mruthyunjaya.
When it came to ticket sales, as compared to last year, the KPL has drawn record-breaking crowds at each venue this season with crowds in Bangalore up by 73% and in Mysuru by 32%. Total sales of up to Rs.49,88,520/- were made this season.
Commenting on the promotions done for the tournament, Mr. Mruthyunjaya said “Even on social media, the KPL has been a huge hit where our Facebook account has a reach of 4,6,55,041 impressions. Our Twitter account has an organic reach of 2.76 million impressions. The Instagram account has 6,94,524 impressions.”
The weather did play spoil-sport through the tournament but despite all the issues the curators with the help of the ground staff produced competitive pitches and quality outfields. And though the tournament had to be shifted out of Hubballi due to weather conditions, Mysuru was ready and set overnight. “The Zonal Conveners have done a great job on the organization front. After this, our curators and ground staff at Mysuru took over to ensure that we got perfect conditions for the matches here. I am also grateful to the team owners and the broadcast crew for their cooperation.” added Mr. Mruthyunjaya.
Of course, the sub-air system at the Chinnaswamy Stadium paid off yet again. Despite the heavy downpour on the opening night in Bengaluru, the matches were completed on schedule.
“At KSCA we are highly committed on the infrastructure front and are looking at developing the same in the districts," said Mr. Mruthyunjaya.
Further commenting on the sponsors and partners of the tournament, Mr. Mruthyunjaya said: “We are very happy that Karbonn Smartphones, SBI, Vimal and Cycle Pure Agarbathi came back to support us again this year. In addition, we are glad that Lakshmi Vilas Bank, Sherlock, Fastrack Reflex 2.0, Ticketgenie, Servo, Sprite, Redbull, B-Tex and Myteam11 garnered their support for the tournament."
"Vijaya Karnataka, Red FM, and Sportskeeda our media partners promoted the league through their forums across audiences to update news across mediums and having Star Sports and Hotstar as broadcast partners have taken the tournament to the next level.
We are happy to have Paytm as our ticketing partner to provide easier access to tickets for fans.”
The KSCA has always believed in spreading the game all across the state. So many of the players now come from the rural hinterlands and that has added to the number of players that teams can choose from. The main purpose of the KPL is to give more players a chance to shine under the spotlight and help the KSCA identify the right talent. “Currently, we are the biggest feeder line to the IPL and many of the IPL franchises send their talent scouts over to watch the KPL games," commented Mr. Mruthyunjaya.
On being asked about the future of women’s matches in the tournament, he said, “The possibilities look good, this time we had 36 players participate in an exhibition match over two days to display their talent and encourage more women to play cricket. This is an endeavor KSCA continues to persist and develop year on year.”
In closing, Mr. Mruthyunjaya said, “A fair number of cricketers from Karnataka were part of the IPL call-up. This year we hope for more players to be added to this pool. Further, this year has been precedent when it comes to increase in viewership and packed stadiums, which we hope to improve. We look forward to the addition of more venues, where we aim to get matches across the state, which will only enable a better reach of the tournament and provide greater opportunities for budding players to showcase their talents and growth."
The winners took home INR 10,00,000/- and the runners-up took INR 5,00,000. The second and the third winners were awarded INR 2,50,000/- each.