Official IPL Mobile Applications
DCI Mobile Studios (A division of Dot Com Infoway Limited), in conjunction with Sigma Ventures of Singapore, have jointly acquired the rights to be the exclusive Mobile Application partner and rights holder for the Indian Premier League cricket matches worldwide for the next 8 years (including the 2017 season). Recently, they have released the IPL T20 Mobile applications for iPhone, Nokia Smartphones and Blackberry devices. Soon it will be made available across all other major Mobile platforms including the Android, Windows Mobile, Palm & others.
Global following
In India, the IPL has become one of the most popular events of the year. In the first season, games were played every night (including weekdays) during Indian prime-time and were broadcast live. The IPL was the most watched TV program in India.
IPL drew positive reactions from the rest of the world also. In Pakistan, the reception was described as "massive". Also, there was a huge following for Kolkata Knight Riders. The matches were telecast live in GEO Super. The matches also generated interest in Sri Lanka and Bangladesh, despite only one Bangladeshi player being involved. The following in the subcontinental nations was aided by the prime time telecast of the matches as they belong to adjacent time zones.
IPL was also popular among the South Asian population in South Africa and England. The IPL did not garner much interest in Australia and New Zealand. However, in recent times the IPL has gained a much larger fan-base in these two countries.
Snap polls indicated that more than 48 million people watched the telecast of the IPL 2008 final between Rajasthan Royals and Chennai Super Kings, more than 40 million people saw the Rajasthan Royals vs Delhi Daredevils match, whereas the second semi-final between Chennai Super Kings and Kings XI Punjab attracted an audience of 29 million.
The third season of IPL saw interest rise dramatically in the United Kingdom. This was, in part, due to TV coverage switching to free to view channel ITV4. Previous editions of IPL were aired on the now defunct channel Setanta (pay to view channel), which entered administration in 2009. James Macleod stated, "We are delighted with the viewing figures for the IPL so far. The ratings for ITV4s coverage have been around seven or eight times those achieved by Setanta last year, and we're delighted to be bringing the competition to a wider audience". Lalit Modi, Chairman and Commissioner of IPL, also expressed immense satisfaction on the way IPL has been accepted by the British audience. "ITV beats Sky Sports over the weekend in number of viewers. This is great going. The ITV numbers are double that of rugby league. This is huge by all imaginations. UK figures for viewership on ITV already 10 times that of last year. This is just fantastic news," he said.
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