Compulsory 'time-outs' are to be introduced into the Indian Premier League, which starts on 18th April in South Africa, in an attempt to squeeze in more television advertising.
The breaks – each lasting seven-and-a-half minutes – will have to be taken after 10 overs. The IPL are planning to market the added time as an innovative by calling it a tactical 'time out'.
During the ‘time out’, the stadium crowd will be entertained by a live band while television audiences will watch three separate two-and-a-half minute segments, two of which will be sold commercially for an estimated $1 million each. The third will show the teams taking drinks and discussing 'tactics'.
“It is a move that is driven completely and totally by commercial objectives,” a senior production official told Cricinfo. “It is designed purely to make even more money by selling airtime. Nobody could argue that this adds any cricketing value to the tournament or that it can be in the viewers' interest, either in the stadium or watching at home.”
In total there are 118 two-and-half minute television advertising slots for sale.
And if this was not enough, IPL renegotiated its $1.8 billion ten-year broadcast-rights deal with Sony-owned Multi Screen Media (MSM) and World Sports Group (WSG) last month.
Did someone say we are in a 'Recession'!!!
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