Wednesday, July 29, 2009

How much is too much?

I really liked this article by Sriram Dayanand. He makes a few very good points about the excessive commercialisation that is plaguing cricket. I totally agree with Mr. Dayanand here. However, most of the people who have commented on his article and are objecting to it seem to have overlooked the main point of discussion. The problem isn't the fact that advertising has changed cricket. Everybody agrees that cricket telecasts these days are a lot better than the 60s or 70s and that in general, cricket has gained a lot from advertising. But there is a definite need to draw the line somewhere. Because now with the strategy breaks, DLF maximums and constant appearance of logos all over the screen, we have really gone too far. And though its true that the BCCI is trying to sell a product, it is equally true that by encouraging such rampant advertising they are undermining the value of their own product. At this rate, it's only a matter of time before we kill the golden goose that is cricket broadcasting and then wonder where we went wrong.

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