In 2019, the Indian Premier League averaged 25,700 spectators per game, a figure that left the cricket tournament nestled neatly between La Liga and Serie A as the eighth most popular annual sports event in the world.

The content created by IPL franchises is generally excellent and the crowds are as passionate as you will find for a relatively new event. However, it rarely gets the credit it deserves.

Obviously cricket is a mainstream sport in only a handful of countries but the self-congratulatory echo chambers of sports content would do well to take a look outside their bubble and towards India.

Achint Gupta is Head of Media and Content at Kolkata Knight Riders, a major IPL franchise with a social media reach akin to that of a major Champions League football club. They were producing their only documentaries long before other sports teams started to eye a spot on Netflix.

They are also internationalising their brand and developing unique content strands that combine Bollywood glamour, Indian music and a different attitude to storytelling.

TOPICS

Putting IPL and Indian cricket in a global context

The early years of IPL and how heroes like Tendulkar and Ganguly became ‘the opponent’

How cricket start competing with entertainment such as soap opera

How the Knight Riders have developed their fans’ story - the power of brand

The early years without success and the subsequent change in CEO and captain

Changing from a white-collar to blue-collar in club ethos

The success of the first club anthem and “I am KKR”

The adventurer who is part of the team and at the forefront of their content

The Living with KKR documentary

The importance of embedding the content team with the playing team. Taking away gatekeepers

Handling individuals so they create great content but not give away secrets

The use of music and Bollywood spectaculars

Social media - why are their Facebook figures far above other IPL sides

The fans’ think tank helping the real think tank

The 12-year-old who told KKR to choose five players… and they signed four of them

The development of fan culture in IPL

The internationalisation strategy for KKR

The multi-language content and consideration of overseas fans

The content collaborations with overseas teams looking to penetrate the Indian market

Moving the IPL to the UAE this year and how it affects content

The upcoming KKR movie and the footage rules

Moving into the fiction space

Connecting the Knight Riders around the world

LINKS

Achint Gupta LinkedIn | Twitter |

Kolkata Riders Website | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram