IPL 9 suffering from low turnouts and TV ratings
Empty seats in the stands and fading TV ratings have left the organisers of the cash-rich Indian Premier League scratching their heads with the T20 carnival yet to reach its heady height. The Indian cricket fans are seemingly suffering from T20 overdose with the IPL succeeding the World T20.
"The response is less so far. One reason is overdose, we [Wankhede Stadium] had four WT20 matches and the warm-up matches before that," Mumbai Cricket Association treasurer, Nitin Dalal, told the Hindustan Times.
The season 9 of the IPL started just five days after West Indies lifted the World T20 at the Eden Gardens. With India getting knocked out in the semis, Indian cricket fans have seemingly gone for hiatus from the game. A lot of vacant seats are appearing in the stands, especially for matches which are being played on the weekdays, even for popular teams like Mumbai Indians, Royal Challengers Bangalore, and Kolkata Knight Riders.
What do you think is the main reason for low turnout and fall in TV ratings this IPL?
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Karnataka State Cricket Association has suggested the IPL organizing committee to 'reassess' the pricing for the tickets, in order to draw in more crowd.
"The lower denomination stands, from Rs. 800-1500 are full. For the high-priced seats, the sale has been slightly slow. They will have to reassess pricing," The Karnataka State Cricket Association vice-president, Sanjay Desai, told the Hindustan Times.