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Sunday, April 25, 2010

IPL...International Productivity Loss

Just wrapped up watching my former home town's team Chennai Super Kings win their first IPL with a rather comfortable victory over Mumbai Indians on YouTube. This was YouTube's first foray into live streaming and I believe they comfortably beat their viewership estimates of about 10million by 5 times. People from about 200 countries watched the game. Now, that is the power of the Internet, not cricket.

I came to know of IPL on YouTube when an American friend of mine IM'ed me at work saying he was watching IPL on YouTube. He had no clue what IPL was, no interest in cricket. He had been on the Internet (Youtube, possibly) and saw an advertisment for IPL. So, there he was ...at work watching IPL, its cheerleaders, the "strategic timeout" and as he put it "a full six."

According to Google the number one viewership was from India and the US came second. I wondered who in India would watch IPL on YouTube rather than on TV. Of course, the folks in the call centers, BPO, KPO and in general folks who then to be at work late into the night, have access to a good internet connection and computer. As for the US, it has to be folks at work or school since the games are played during US work hours.

Imagine a conversation between a customer in the US and the support center person in India, both watching IPL

Customer: So, when can I get the refund for the order

Suport person: As soon as the IPL controversy surrounding Lalit Modi and Shashi Tharoor has been sorted out.

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