Khuman Lampak Stadium, Imphal to get Flood Lights soon. PM Modi to lay foundation stone for the flood lights and several new artificial turfs in the state on January 4.
@BrainFallINDIA ; Such reasoning defy logic. Cricket makes more money then every other sport in India should close the shop ? Money cant be the only reason. Their own Mumbai indians IPL Franchise is definitely making more money then many ISL teams pooled togteher- yet they are not closing ISL
Indian football: Is FSDL’s conflict of interest at the heart of I-League’s broadcast apathy?
Football Sports Development Limited, which operates the Indian Super League, is also the marketing partner of the AIFF, which runs the I-League.
Recently, Star Sports bore the brunt of social media’s ire when it was announced that the broadcaster would show only 30 of the remaining I-League matches, bringing the total number of matches broadcasted to 80 out of a possible 110.
Praveen VC, president of Gokulam Kerala, put the blame squarely on the AIFF, saying the Indian federation “should not abide blindly by what their commercial and marketing partners tell them to do. It is their responsibility to ensure the league runs smoothly.”
The clubs claimed it had been verbally agreed that all I-League games would be broadcast this season. I-League CEO Sunando Dhar, however, said no number had been specified Star Sports’ contract as to how many matches would be broadcast.
Sandeep Chattoo, co-owner of Real Kashmir, told PTI, “I hope that all matches will be telecast live as was decided earlier. The organisers, AIFF, have been playing a wonderful role in encouraging all teams of I-League. For us at RKFC, our fans back at home have been following the matches on television sets and Internet and I hope their enthusiasm will not be dampened by this decision.”
‘Death sentence’
.... two glaring questions remain.
One: did the I-League, after two exciting finishes, deserve such an open-ended broadcast contract?
Two: clubs complaining of step-motherly treatment had a point. To anyone who’s watched the Indian Super League and the I-League this season, the different in broadcast quality is clear.
Why is this the case when the teams of both leagues had gone toe-to-toe in last season’s Super Cup? Why is this the case when the I-League, which on paper remains the country’s official top-tier league? Why in 2018, 22 years after the first ball was kicked in a national league, does India still have two concurrently-operating top-tier leagues?
The last question has possibly been raised, re-raised and raised some more over the last five years. Instead of a pyramid system rewarding those rising from the base a moment to shine at the top, parallel stumps run amok, create viewer confusion and burnout within a short span of time. This also keeps I-League clubs in the dark about the future.
Broadcast deal
Now, coming to the matter at hand, the case of the broadcast and the issues with quality management. Dhar clearly explains, “Broadcasting deals don’t fall under the AIFF’s purview. It is our commercial and marketing partner’s responsibility to negotiate the deal.”
A Star source states the same: “We negotiate the broadcast deals with Football Sports Development Limited (FSDL). We held all our discussions with all stakeholders and it was amicably agreed upon.” FSDL, a subsidiary of IMG-Reliance, operates the ISL.
Secondly, the Minerva Punjab versus Chennai City match was on a significant day because the Kolkata Derby would also be held later. While the broadcast quality of the earlier match was compared to that of a mobile phone’s video, the latter wasn’t much better, this writer can confirm, having seen the derby live and on a screen in the media tribune. The honest answer? The broadcast feed didn’t do justice to Indian football’s biggest game.
Naturally, the tendency would be to blame Star, as the end product that is consumed is the channel and its offerings. Star does not hold the production rights to the league, as it receives its feed from FSDL.
The broadcaster does make a distinction between the Indian Super League, shown on High-Definition (HD) channels and Star Sports 1 and 2, while I-League is shown on Star Sports 3 and Star Sports First, which are only Standard Definition (SD). The matches from both leagues were shown on Star’s digital streaming platform Hotstar.
The seven-member strong I-League (Private) Clubs Association – Chennai City, Minerva, Neroca, Aizawl, Real Kashmir, Gokulam Kerala and Shillong Lajong – had specifically requested this to change.
The marketing of the I-League, as discussed in a mail by the seven-strong association to Praful Patel, is also not held by the AIFF but by FSDL, who are the marketing partners of the national federation.
While Dhar did confirm that the league committee does churn out the fixtures before cross-checking with the teams, neither the broadcasting nor the marketing deals are made by the AIFF.
FSDL, in turn, has a considerable interest in the Indian Super League as well, being the tournament’s organisers and its marketing partners since its inception in 2013. The Joint Venture features directors from both Star Sports and the Reliance Foundation for Youth Sports.
(Officials from FSDL were reached out for comment via phone and email. This piece will be updated as and when they respond to Scroll.in’s queries.)
A 2017 report stated that the AIFF’s commercial partners have the rights to re-constitute or re-organise the top league as part of a 15-year-deal signed between the two parties in 2010.
“…the league which the Company (sic) intends to establish as the most senior and prestigious football league in India (in consultation with the AIFF as contemplated under this Agreement) whether by way of reorganising or reconstituting any existing Competition (sic) (such as the I-League) or the establishment of an entirely new league….,” reads the report in the Hindustan Times.
In such a case if the intention was to further the I-League, it might benefit from the league having a degree of autonomy in realising its commercial and marketing potential.
Apathy towards the I-League has also manifested in other forms, namely scheduling, where a more venue-by-venue approach should be taken, considering the length and breadth of the country that the league’s clubs cover.
While the Indian Super League releases its fixtures three months before its first game, the I-League has given its clubs as few as 21 and 11 days in the recent past. This, clubs say, is a deterrent to finding sponsors and finalising travel plans or acquiring travel partners, given the brief period of advance notice.
“This year, we weren’t sure about Churchill’s inclusion,” said Dhar. “We didn’t know if the Indian Arrows would play in Bhubaneswar and we were sweating on Real Kashmir’s TRC Stadium in Srinagar as well. This is not an excuse but these factors must be kept in mind.”
Currently, the embattled I-league faces a case of ‘Whose Apathy Is It Anyway’. Among a slew of pass-the-buck parties between various stakeholders, it is the clubs that must keep fighting for sustenance, not just on the pitch, but also off it.
EB & MB never care about other clubs... otherwise picture would have been so much different 3 years ago... sadly these new clubs (Minerva, CCFC, GKFC & Real Kashmir) were not there.
That time SLFC were ready if i-league relegated to second tire & Aizwal were relegated. BFC were planning isl entry..
Star has a share in ISL and will go to any extend to earn money through it it has match per day becuase of getting higher ratings per game despite a lot of clubs complaining about attendences
TV ratings arent generated for Minerva,Kashmir,CCFC,Neroca kinda clubs in genral having a big and known city plays a part. Star actually has a say and not AIFF or FDSL. even ten sports used to selectively telecast matches of i-league barring its last season. I remeber they never really showed games hosted in Shillong becuase of higher production cost. Everything in TV industry is money.
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Indian football: Is FSDL’s conflict of interest at the heart of I-League’s broadcast apathy?
Football Sports Development Limited, which operates the Indian Super League, is also the marketing partner of the AIFF, which runs the I-League.
Recently, Star Sports bore the brunt of social media’s ire when it was announced that the broadcaster would show only 30 of the remaining I-League matches, bringing the total number of matches broadcasted to 80 out of a possible 110.
The clubs claimed it had been verbally agreed that all I-League games would be broadcast this season. I-League CEO Sunando Dhar, however, said no number had been specified Star Sports’ contract as to how many matches would be broadcast.
Sandeep Chattoo, co-owner of Real Kashmir, told PTI, “I hope that all matches will be telecast live as was decided earlier. The organisers, AIFF, have been playing a wonderful role in encouraging all teams of I-League. For us at RKFC, our fans back at home have been following the matches on television sets and Internet and I hope their enthusiasm will not be dampened by this decision.”
‘Death sentence’
.... two glaring questions remain.
One: did the I-League, after two exciting finishes, deserve such an open-ended broadcast contract?
Two: clubs complaining of step-motherly treatment had a point. To anyone who’s watched the Indian Super League and the I-League this season, the different in broadcast quality is clear.
Why is this the case when the teams of both leagues had gone toe-to-toe in last season’s Super Cup? Why is this the case when the I-League, which on paper remains the country’s official top-tier league? Why in 2018, 22 years after the first ball was kicked in a national league, does India still have two concurrently-operating top-tier leagues?
Broadcast deal
Now, coming to the matter at hand, the case of the broadcast and the issues with quality management. Dhar clearly explains, “Broadcasting deals don’t fall under the AIFF’s purview. It is our commercial and marketing partner’s responsibility to negotiate the deal.”
A Star source states the same: “We negotiate the broadcast deals with Football Sports Development Limited (FSDL). We held all our discussions with all stakeholders and it was amicably agreed upon.” FSDL, a subsidiary of IMG-Reliance, operates the ISL.
Secondly, the Minerva Punjab versus Chennai City match was on a significant day because the Kolkata Derby would also be held later. While the broadcast quality of the earlier match was compared to that of a mobile phone’s video, the latter wasn’t much better, this writer can confirm, having seen the derby live and on a screen in the media tribune. The honest answer? The broadcast feed didn’t do justice to Indian football’s biggest game.
The broadcaster does make a distinction between the Indian Super League, shown on High-Definition (HD) channels and Star Sports 1 and 2, while I-League is shown on Star Sports 3 and Star Sports First, which are only Standard Definition (SD). The matches from both leagues were shown on Star’s digital streaming platform Hotstar.
The seven-member strong I-League (Private) Clubs Association – Chennai City, Minerva, Neroca, Aizawl, Real Kashmir, Gokulam Kerala and Shillong Lajong – had specifically requested this to change.
While Dhar did confirm that the league committee does churn out the fixtures before cross-checking with the teams, neither the broadcasting nor the marketing deals are made by the AIFF.
FSDL, in turn, has a considerable interest in the Indian Super League as well, being the tournament’s organisers and its marketing partners since its inception in 2013. The Joint Venture features directors from both Star Sports and the Reliance Foundation for Youth Sports.
(Officials from FSDL were reached out for comment via phone and email. This piece will be updated as and when they respond to Scroll.in’s queries.)
A 2017 report stated that the AIFF’s commercial partners have the rights to re-constitute or re-organise the top league as part of a 15-year-deal signed between the two parties in 2010.
“…the league which the Company (sic) intends to establish as the most senior and prestigious football league in India (in consultation with the AIFF as contemplated under this Agreement) whether by way of reorganising or reconstituting any existing Competition (sic) (such as the I-League) or the establishment of an entirely new league….,” reads the report in the Hindustan Times.
Apathy towards the I-League has also manifested in other forms, namely scheduling, where a more venue-by-venue approach should be taken, considering the length and breadth of the country that the league’s clubs cover.
While the Indian Super League releases its fixtures three months before its first game, the I-League has given its clubs as few as 21 and 11 days in the recent past. This, clubs say, is a deterrent to finding sponsors and finalising travel plans or acquiring travel partners, given the brief period of advance notice.
“This year, we weren’t sure about Churchill’s inclusion,” said Dhar. “We didn’t know if the Indian Arrows would play in Bhubaneswar and we were sweating on Real Kashmir’s TRC Stadium in Srinagar as well. This is not an excuse but these factors must be kept in mind.”
Currently, the embattled I-league faces a case of ‘Whose Apathy Is It Anyway’. Among a slew of pass-the-buck parties between various stakeholders, it is the clubs that must keep fighting for sustenance, not just on the pitch, but also off it.
That time SLFC were ready if i-league relegated to second tire & Aizwal were relegated. BFC were planning isl entry..
And like always, EB & MB never cared
it has match per day becuase of getting higher ratings per game despite a lot of clubs complaining about attendences
TV ratings arent generated for Minerva,Kashmir,CCFC,Neroca kinda clubs in genral having a big and known city plays a part. Star actually has a say and not AIFF or FDSL. even ten sports used to selectively telecast matches of i-league barring its last season. I remeber they never really showed games hosted in Shillong becuase of higher production cost. Everything in TV industry is money.