From LB to LBW, via TRPs

A drastic change from normal Super Bowl halftime programming — top musicians of the day — LB, promoted by a company called Horizon, has predictably drawn a storm of protests (‘‘peep show’’ was the most restrained criticism) from women’s activists, the sporting sorority and mainstream media.

What matters, though, is the bottomline: at $20 a head, and with an estimated 4 million viewers, it’s no small change .

What does all this have to do with you? Simple. We will never have LB on TV — primarily because we do not have 22 models/starlets ready to play cricket in their underwear during the break in an ODI.

But LB is just an extreme manifestation of the direction sports programming is taking, slowly, but surely: towards the sexing up and dumbing down of pure cricket coverage. Last year’s World Cup saw Mandira Bedi, and let nobody fool you that it was for purely cricketing reasons. And the current series Down Under has the Shaz and Waz show, an uncomplicated 15 minutes of male bonding with cricket legends drooling over young, preferably Australian, girls.

At least SET was honest about its motives: ‘‘At the time it was a question of economics and it remains the same’’, a spokesperson said.

During the World Cup, an ESPN-Star spokesman had said: ‘‘We reserve filmstars and other such people for shows like Super Selector, etc. A cricket telecast is a hardcore sports programme for us with no room for fluff.’’

Today, Himanshu Verma, ESPN’s chief spin doctor, explains ‘Shaz and Waz’ thus: ‘‘It’s of greater value to the advertisers and the results are there. It’s received tremendous response . They are two very charismatic cricketers and it’s their show.’’

Just who among the true cricketing fans — and India has several million of them — would prefer S&W to, Boycs and Sunny discussing Laxman, is a matter of opinion. Once again, though, it boils down to the bottomline: S&W TRPs at around 2.7, higher than SET’s Extraaa Innings at 2.5.

Former South Africa coach Bob Woolmer is known for his technical innovations but draws the line at LB and its ilk. ‘‘I’m not in favour of programmes that aren’t contextual. I’d love to see women in lingerie but, during a cricket match, I’d rather watch a show with children or reserve players in a skills-oriented game. Market it, sell it by all means, but don’t make it cheap.’’

At football matches across Europe, they organise five-a-side matches or juggling/talent shows by talented youngsters. Cricket has also seen its share of kids’ games and the like during the break. To sell what is effectively the national game, surely the broadcasters don’t need to resort to gimmicks?