Col Arvinder Singh, the COO of the Abu Dhabi T10 League, has said the phenomenal growth of the Abu Dhabi T10 League is a clear indication that players and all stakeholders have accepted the format.
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The current times in cricket are seeing a bit of Twenty20 fever. With IPL and the upcoming ICC World T20 2021 promising two months of action-packed Twenty20 cricket, fans are all set to be thrilled by the high-octane action. But, immediately after the end of the World T20 in November, fans will once again get a chance to witness a new format that has been creating ripples in the world of cricket. The Abu Dhabi T10 League, which has been around for the next four years, is all set to be played for the fifth time in Abu Dhabi in November 2021.
Recently, there were some numbers released by the Abu Dhabi T10 League that highlighted the massive growth of the league. With cricket now being pushed in the Olympics for 2028 Los Angeles, the buzz is that the T10 format might get the nod. The coronavirus pandemic in 2020 forced that edition of the T10 League to be played in January and February. However, despite all the restrictions and upheavals of the coronavirus pandemic, the league drew in audience attention in massive numbers.
Just a look at the numbers gives an indication of how the Abu Dhabi T10 League has grown amidst the pandemic.
In the tournament held earlier in 2021, as many as 144.2 million people tuned in to watch their favorite cricket heroes on television. An additional 26.1 million fans caught the high-octane cricket tournament on the OTT platform. The Abu Dhabi T10 also reached out to its wide audience through exciting content through YouTube and social media handles. The tournament’s YouTube page garnered a global reach of 90 million. The social media handles reached out to 82.8 million fans worldwide.
The Abu Dhabi T10 recorded a whopping 79.57 percent rise in its TV audience as compared to the season in 2019. With the total number of fans who watched the Abu Dhabi T10 rising from 92.6 million (TV and OTT combined) in the 2019 season to 170.3 million in the 2021 season, the Abu Dhabi T10 recorded a steep 83.91 percent rise in audience viewing. The Abu Dhabi T10 also saw a 38.52 percent rise in net sponsorship value as compared to 2019. In the 2021season, big brands like Viacom, along with other major players are stepping up to expand the reach of the Abu Dhabi T10 League.
In an exclusive interview with Sportslumo, Col Arvinder Singh, the COO of the Abu Dhabi T10 League, spoke about how the growth is seen as an acceptance of the format.
Coronavirus has impacted everything in the world. Sports is no different. Things are better now. It will be easier this year. There are a number of sporting events happening this year. Last year was difficult. Our season is November-December. We conducted the event in January-February 2021. It was hugely successful and uneventful when it came to the coronavirus situation. This speaks volumes of the way how the officials conducted the league. All the authorities in the UAE played a big role.
The last season was difficult to conduct because of the restrictions. We are a serious player in the sport and are capable of conducting events even in those times. This provided a lot of relief to the viewers. We gave them an opportunity to give access to live sport. That is why there was an exponential increase. These are only going to increase year-to-year.
OTT is a very important base. We have signed a new business deal with Viacom and also have Voot and Jio as part of the package. OTT is becoming a very important avenue. When we talk about broadcast and media deals, we ensure that OTT is part of the deal. The right kind of OTT which gives us the reach and increase in the number of viewers is important. As we are going ahead, OTT is becoming more and more important.
The popularity of the format is the prime reason why there is such an interest among fans. We launched the Abu Dhabi T10 League in 2017. We are getting into the fifth year. It started before the pandemic. The first stepping stone was the acceptance of the format. In this fast-moving world, it takes three and a half hours to conduct a T20 game. In this period, I am able to conduct two T10 matches. It is like a soccer game. It is an intense, fast league. If you see basketball, football around the world, you have the timeframe that is required to capture the attention of the fans.
Going forward, taking the game into the Olympics, it will be T10. The BCCI, ICC are saying this. Multiple T10 games can be conducted. Our so-called brand ambassadors like Eoin Morgan, Chris Gayle, and Andre Russell say that the T10 format is the best format heading ahead. Especially last season, we have shown the world we are a serious player. We are the only T10 league in the world.
The players’ draft is coming up. I have 1186 players who had participated in the players’ draft. They are in different categories and are from 26 different countries. It is the highest we have had. It is reflective of where the league is heading. Not just from an audience perspective but from a players’ perspective.
I have not watched too much of The 100. I would like to restrict my views to Tests, ODIs, T20s, and the T10. There will be different combinations that will be tried. The fact is, what remains acceptable. I am not privy to the format.
The first step in the right direction was in acceptance. It is in levels, through players. We have taken the first step in the right direction. With new broadcast deals, we have far greater reach. The rise of this league will be way more exponential. With Viacom on board, the reach it provides on regional and English on TV is huge. The tie-up with FanCode means we have tremendous reach. We have also sold global media rights. There are a number of broadcasters who are keen to access the particular. The numbers are good. Starting from this year, the Abu Dhabi T10 League will see far greater numbers. The lowest category in the Abu Dhabi T10 League has 400 players. It shows the cricketing world has taken note. When we get the numbers, we will discuss whether the numbers are big as compared.
