<p>Bengaluru: It was 11 years ago, in 2015, that Star Sports launched its first regional language commentary service in Hindi with a lot of hope and an equal amount of apprehension. Until then, English was the de facto lingua franca of cricket commentary on television, and to get the audience to switch from their “preferred” language was going to be a big ask. To their surprise, however, they were overwhelmed by the response. The success encouraged them to expand their network to more native tongues, and given India’s diversity in languages, sky was the limit. </p>.<p>Gradually, they started commentary feed in Tamil, Telugu, Kannada and Malayalam and found the response similarly reassuring. After the merger of Star Sports and Jio, who had won digital rights for IPL broadcast for the 2023-2027 cycle, the network serves commentary in over a dozen Indian languages, attracting the hitherto untapped audience. Regional language commentary, in a way, has transformed the way Indian audiences experience cricket.</p>.<p>According to JioStar, the regional language watch-time has seen an uptick of 42% (as per data collected from 43 matches on linear TV and 49 on digital) this Indian Premier League over the the last edition with digital platforms accelarating the growth. </p>.<p>“It’s not just about the language,” Siddharth Sharma, head of content, sports, at JioStar tells DhoS. “No two languages or no two cultures are similar to each other. I think that’s the biggest mistake one will commit if you look at the markets through the same prism and expect to really duplicate what worked in one is going to work on the other.</p>.<p>“Whenever we start a new language, it starts with understanding the region, the people, the preferences and what is going to endear the people towards the style of delivery and connection that we want to establish with them. We create a textbook, a playbook which is infused with everything that we can know and learn.”</p>.<p>Former India player and the earliest to take to Kannada commentary Vijay Bharadwaj feels it’s about storytelling, it’s about making it an enjoyable experience without complicating the narration with too much technicality.</p>.<p>“Helping audiences understand the language of cricket itself was a difficult task,” he begins. “Many people across Bengaluru and villages in Karnataka could not fully understand English commentary, and they did not want to watch Hindi commentary either. Naturally, they were looking for a channel where they could understand both the game of cricket and the language being spoken.</p>.<p>“The finer details of the game are discussed in an informal tone. It is “aadu bhashe” (conversational Kannada). That has been the key,” offers Bharadwaj who admits he has gained more visibility by being a commentator than when he played for India.</p>.<p>“People recognise me on the streets, mob me, take selfies and seek my autograph. I feel like a rockstar,” he laughs.</p>.<p>From conceptualisation of an idea to final output, attention to details is uncompromisable. </p>.<p>“A great deal of effort goes on behind the scenes from producers as well as commentators,” says Bharadwaj. “Once the basics were established, the focus shifted to taking the broadcast to the next level. The entire idea was that once viewers tuned into the Kannada channel, they should not feel the need to switch back to English or Hindi commentary.”</p>.How RCB grew into biggest IPL product.<p>A major effort has also gone into representing the diversity within Karnataka itself. Producers consciously incorporate different dialects and speaking styles from across the state. A South Bengaluru conversational tone may coexist with North Karnataka’s high-energy expressions or Mysuru’s softer linguistic flavour.</p>.<p>“We carefully look at ways as to how we can probably look beyond the urban Bangalore style also and look at the various energies that come from other regions,” Sharma notes. “There’s a South Bangalore conversational tone. There’s a North Karnataka mass energy. Depending on the panel combinations and match and mood, whoever is present is part of the panel. So, we try to have this diversity within the region that we can bring together to tell these stories that are infused with strong Karnataka subculture references including, for example, Bangalore internet culture, meme, humour, cafe cricket discussions, local phrases, fan behavior patterns around the team that we support so much.”</p>.<p>Royal Challengers Bengaluru fandom, Sharma says, also strongly defines the tone of the Kannada feed.</p>.<p>“It’s emotional. It’s community-driven during the RCB matches, high-pressure games that RCB tends to play. And one of the major strengths of this season over the years that we have done is try to really bring a mix of generational voices on the panel which includes, you know, players who have played over the years, who have seen India cricket, who have seen IPL cricket and bring them alongside the current batch of players also.</p>.<p>“This offers a unique mix of a view of how cricket has been and our view of how cricket has now changed and infusing the modern T20 culture and digital audiences sensibilities into it. So, instead of conventional commentary structure, each commentator then developed a distinct identity and we have tried to build an audience recall through these.</p>.<p>“You know, for example, Jaani Srinivas has got this humour element. So, we have created segments like Humour Jaani where humour and meme-friendly moments are called. I believe benki in Kannada is fire. So, Benki Akhil as high-intensity match reaction that comes from Akhil. Angry Vijay... Emotional reaction and mass energy that comes from Vijay Bharadwaj. You know, we have tried to create characters out of some of these voices and talent who are loved by the audiences. Vinay Kumar, Tactical Vinay, talks about game awareness and strategy. When you give personalities, then you are able to do and establish that connect far more deeply. This avoids a lot of the tonal fatigue that comes in a tournament which can be of long durations like the IPL.”</p>.<p>Today, Kannada commentary is no longer viewed as an alternative to English coverage. It has evolved into a distinct viewing experience with its own style, identity and loyal fan base. For broadcasters, the future lies in further deepening these regional connections. </p>
<p>Bengaluru: It was 11 years ago, in 2015, that Star Sports launched its first regional language commentary service in Hindi with a lot of hope and an equal amount of apprehension. Until then, English was the de facto lingua franca of cricket commentary on television, and to get the audience to switch from their “preferred” language was going to be a big ask. To their surprise, however, they were overwhelmed by the response. The success encouraged them to expand their network to more native tongues, and given India’s diversity in languages, sky was the limit. </p>.<p>Gradually, they started commentary feed in Tamil, Telugu, Kannada and Malayalam and found the response similarly reassuring. After the merger of Star Sports and Jio, who had won digital rights for IPL broadcast for the 2023-2027 cycle, the network serves commentary in over a dozen Indian languages, attracting the hitherto untapped audience. Regional language commentary, in a way, has transformed the way Indian audiences experience cricket.</p>.<p>According to JioStar, the regional language watch-time has seen an uptick of 42% (as per data collected from 43 matches on linear TV and 49 on digital) this Indian Premier League over the the last edition with digital platforms accelarating the growth. </p>.<p>“It’s not just about the language,” Siddharth Sharma, head of content, sports, at JioStar tells DhoS. “No two languages or no two cultures are similar to each other. I think that’s the biggest mistake one will commit if you look at the markets through the same prism and expect to really duplicate what worked in one is going to work on the other.</p>.<p>“Whenever we start a new language, it starts with understanding the region, the people, the preferences and what is going to endear the people towards the style of delivery and connection that we want to establish with them. We create a textbook, a playbook which is infused with everything that we can know and learn.”</p>.<p>Former India player and the earliest to take to Kannada commentary Vijay Bharadwaj feels it’s about storytelling, it’s about making it an enjoyable experience without complicating the narration with too much technicality.</p>.<p>“Helping audiences understand the language of cricket itself was a difficult task,” he begins. “Many people across Bengaluru and villages in Karnataka could not fully understand English commentary, and they did not want to watch Hindi commentary either. Naturally, they were looking for a channel where they could understand both the game of cricket and the language being spoken.</p>.<p>“The finer details of the game are discussed in an informal tone. It is “aadu bhashe” (conversational Kannada). That has been the key,” offers Bharadwaj who admits he has gained more visibility by being a commentator than when he played for India.</p>.<p>“People recognise me on the streets, mob me, take selfies and seek my autograph. I feel like a rockstar,” he laughs.</p>.<p>From conceptualisation of an idea to final output, attention to details is uncompromisable. </p>.<p>“A great deal of effort goes on behind the scenes from producers as well as commentators,” says Bharadwaj. “Once the basics were established, the focus shifted to taking the broadcast to the next level. The entire idea was that once viewers tuned into the Kannada channel, they should not feel the need to switch back to English or Hindi commentary.”</p>.How RCB grew into biggest IPL product.<p>A major effort has also gone into representing the diversity within Karnataka itself. Producers consciously incorporate different dialects and speaking styles from across the state. A South Bengaluru conversational tone may coexist with North Karnataka’s high-energy expressions or Mysuru’s softer linguistic flavour.</p>.<p>“We carefully look at ways as to how we can probably look beyond the urban Bangalore style also and look at the various energies that come from other regions,” Sharma notes. “There’s a South Bangalore conversational tone. There’s a North Karnataka mass energy. Depending on the panel combinations and match and mood, whoever is present is part of the panel. So, we try to have this diversity within the region that we can bring together to tell these stories that are infused with strong Karnataka subculture references including, for example, Bangalore internet culture, meme, humour, cafe cricket discussions, local phrases, fan behavior patterns around the team that we support so much.”</p>.<p>Royal Challengers Bengaluru fandom, Sharma says, also strongly defines the tone of the Kannada feed.</p>.<p>“It’s emotional. It’s community-driven during the RCB matches, high-pressure games that RCB tends to play. And one of the major strengths of this season over the years that we have done is try to really bring a mix of generational voices on the panel which includes, you know, players who have played over the years, who have seen India cricket, who have seen IPL cricket and bring them alongside the current batch of players also.</p>.<p>“This offers a unique mix of a view of how cricket has been and our view of how cricket has now changed and infusing the modern T20 culture and digital audiences sensibilities into it. So, instead of conventional commentary structure, each commentator then developed a distinct identity and we have tried to build an audience recall through these.</p>.<p>“You know, for example, Jaani Srinivas has got this humour element. So, we have created segments like Humour Jaani where humour and meme-friendly moments are called. I believe benki in Kannada is fire. So, Benki Akhil as high-intensity match reaction that comes from Akhil. Angry Vijay... Emotional reaction and mass energy that comes from Vijay Bharadwaj. You know, we have tried to create characters out of some of these voices and talent who are loved by the audiences. Vinay Kumar, Tactical Vinay, talks about game awareness and strategy. When you give personalities, then you are able to do and establish that connect far more deeply. This avoids a lot of the tonal fatigue that comes in a tournament which can be of long durations like the IPL.”</p>.<p>Today, Kannada commentary is no longer viewed as an alternative to English coverage. It has evolved into a distinct viewing experience with its own style, identity and loyal fan base. For broadcasters, the future lies in further deepening these regional connections. </p>