Big B to add glitz to Champions League

In a fragmented television space cluttered with cricket tournaments, ESPN Star Sports (ESS) is pitching the Airtel Champions League T20 as the championship of the champions. The channel has roped in actor Amitabh Bachchan to be the brand ambassador of this season’s tournament, to be played in South Africa. The channel has also increased its marketing spend four times over the last season to create a bigger buzz around the tournament. In the opening match in Johannesburg on September 10, IPL-3 runners-up Mumbai Indians will take on South Africa’s Highveld Lions.

Since there is a perceived viewership fatigue due to the number of tournaments played after the Indian Premier League (IPL) in April, the channel is betting big on the Commonwealth diaspora for more eyeballs.

“We recognise that there is a lot of cricket being played but unlike IPL this is a global contest. The Airtel Champions League T20 will be broadcast in 169 countries in 14 languages,” said ESS Managing Director Manu Sawhney. Since IPL, the Indian cricket team has participated in three international tournaments and from August 10 will play in a tri-series with New Zealand and Sri Lanka.

Even though the first season of the Champions League in 2009 did not get the kind of viewership that the IPL did in its debut season in 2008, Sawhney says the ratings will improve this year.

According to industry sources, Bachchan has been paid around Rs 5 crore for the association and he will be shooting promos with cricketers like Sourav Ganguly, Herchelle Gibbs and Andrew Symonds.