The recently concluded IPL 2020 or Indian Premier League 13 was played in UAE behind closed doors due to the ongoing Coronavirus pandemic. It was postponed from its original schedule in March 2020 to September by the BCCI after cases continued to rise in India.
All the eight franchises were taken into confidence as the decision to move the entire tournament to UAE was taken by the board and bio-secure bubbles were created by a UK-based form for the teams and officials.
The pandemic and the bio-bubbles that players had to endure for weeks made organizing this edition of the tournament a challenging feat.
However, this resulted in one of the most-watched IPL editions ever, as it saw a record-breaking 28 percent increase in viewership compared to the last edition.
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IPL chairman Brijesh Patel said, “IPL has always endeavored to provide a world-class sports event for its fans.”
The four large virtual fan walls included pre-recorded videos of cheerleaders on branded walls of sponsors. IPL teams like Mumbai Indians and Rajasthan Royals launched digital initiatives to connect with fans. The viewers watching at home enjoyed the match with fake cheers and crowd noise with the commentary, giving them the feeling that the action was taking place in a packed house.
Patel also thanked Dream11 for coming on board as the title sponsor after Vivo pulled out of this year’s edition. He said, “With Dream11 coming on board as the title sponsor for IPL 2020, we are happy to see a digital sports brand like Dream11 increasing fan engagement through fantasy sport.”
“It’s equally heartening to see how Dream11 has integrated its users in all Dream11 IPL match activations. The match countdown, Dream11 Champion Fans wall, and the virtual guest box have all been brought about to bring the fans to the forefront,” he added.
Vikrant Mudaliar, chief marketing officer at Dream11, said, “IPL is the biggest sports event in India that witnesses extremely high fan fervor, and we are happy to see similar engagement on Dream11. Fantasy sports have increasingly become integral to fan engagement with every IPL. Sports fans are at the center of everything we do, and we have integrated our users in all Dream11 IPL match activations.”
(PTI inputs)
