MUMBAI: It seems like nothing can put this journalist-turned-CEO down. Even as most would have been wringing their hands in despair following the disruption in the way business operates following the Covid2019 effect, Uday Shankar, the head honcho of Disney Star India, is taking things in his stride.
“We need to break our muscle memory. No matter which business you are in, those who are able to think differently and work backwards from the new reality, they will be able to create much more value,” said Uday Shankar, while interacting with Indian Express about how his company will deal with the fact that its biggest cash cow the IPL has not happened in the 2020 season, and may not happen if the virus continues to wreak havoc in India and the world.
The Board for Control of Cricket in India (BCCI) has been mulling over options like finding a date in the calendar when the IPL can be pushed in and how the matches will be played in stadia when distancing and safety regulations may prevent large public gatherings in them.
Shankar explained that even empty stands during the IPL when it does happen post clearances from various country boards would not be a problem. He pointed out that players could come in, and instead of coming in five days earlier, they could come in two weeks prior and serve the quarantine period before getting on the field.
“I don’t buy it when people say, ‘oh, the experience will be incomplete’. Sports has become bigger because people are able to watch it on multiple media. Yes, the presence of the audience at the ground does help to create an atmosphere, so we will figure out ways of creating and enhancing the atmosphere through graphics, audio, sound effects and all that,” he elaborated. “It will be a challenge and we are required to deal with it for the first time. But it will get easier. Look, on Day 1 of lockdown, even using sanitiser and mask was a big disruption. I heard so many people say that they were not able to breathe properly. Now everybody is wearing masks. We will get used to it.”
He further went on to state that technology will step in and his company was working on ways to get the home-viewing audience’s experiences onto the TV screen.
“It’s a creative challenge; it’s not a sporting challenge. You watch sports at home on TV or Hotstar. Whenever you’re watching a tense moment, do you not have a very intense expression on your face? So, all we need to do is capture it. And today technology is ready for that. So, you can be at home but you can also be on television,” he said. “Our ability to recreate the same atmosphere for the fans who are watching it from home is limited only by our imagination; otherwise the fan gives you enough opportunity to capture those moments of intensity and excitement. It will be a somewhat different experience but it surely will be as rich, if not richer. If this had happened 20 years ago, without broadband and hundreds of millions of smartphones with cameras, it would be a challenge. Today it’s happening at a time when we’re ready.”
Shankar believes that the sports bodies are going to be supportive of any initiatives that Disney Star India takes to bring sport back into Indian homes. Said he: “It has hurt us greatly; but it has hurt everybody. So, I won’t read too much into this. Look, first and foremost, we have a contract. We are an honourable company and we will honour it. But you should also understand that sports bodies are also aware of the challenges in the market place… The economy and incomes have taken a hit. And as far as Star and cricket are concerned, it is the goose that lays the golden egg. We have invested more in cricket than any other media company, any time in the world. I think in my experience, all sports bodies and authorities value the fact that our commitment to cricket is so high. If there is a real problem, we will go to them and I’m sure we will get a fair audience.”
