Raymond Hume, Director of Cricket & Indian Production, ESPN STAR Sports
You can no longer afford to deliver a poor production quality programme to the Indian viewers.
You can no longer afford to deliver a poor production quality programme to the Indian viewers.Ashish Sinha of exchange4media caught up with Raymond Hume to discuss the nuances of sports programming and the challenges of covering cricket in India.
Q. On future programmes "We are planning something huge in Cricket, which will shake the foundations. It is some of the stuff, which India has never seen before, and it will probably hit the Indian TV screens this May."
Q. On the 'Programme Format' of Taking Guard' and 'Follow Through' "These programmes have been formatted on the pattern News shows, with headlines, phone-ins and graphics. Its not that we haven't addressed the Cricketing issues in this format before; Crash your mind back to the South Africa series, Sachin and ball-tampering controversy. We broke the news and we did it within our telecast of the game. If you remember, we had sent Ravi Shastri to that Press Conference to ask those question which whole of the India wanted to ask. So, probably it looks like we are more news like purely because we haven't got the visuals so we are putting more graphic content up, we are moving into the press conference area a little bit more, which we have done before because we are not there on the ground, so in actual fact it looks like we are more like news, but actually it is a continuation of what we have done in the past. We have thrived on the fact that we have some of the best contacts in the cricketing world which enables us to break the news, if Sachin or Saurav have some problem in terms of their batting, who so they go to? They go to Sunil, or Geoffrey (as was the case with Saurav and Geoffrey spending time in the West Indies)..so we have been doing exactly what we have done so far, only that visually the treatment is little different because of the obvious reasons. The feedback has been quite positive. We have done our own research because there has been a lot of talk of including the female audience in the telecast of cricket. Its easier to quote figures, but we believe that there has not been any increase in the Female audience whatsoever. As a sports channel, we have been doing our service to our viewers and its because of our efforts we can provide creditable assessment on the game. People like Wasim Akram talk to us on phone because of our contacts. The bottom line is that the audience response to these two shows has been very encouraging."
Q. On the challenges of being a Sports channel "One of the important challenges in front of a sports broadcaster is to keep itself abreast with the latest technology. The philosophy at ESPN is that since there are very few sports broadcasters, we wish to entertain and inform our audience at the same time. Also we have to be very accurate in our programming and statistics etc. If we do not do that, I can assure you that this Indian market will jump on you big time. We always believe that we are in the entertainment business as well as the sports business. So when we pick our commentators, for example, we look at those who are creditable plus those who can communicate well. Geoffrey Boycott is a very good analyst of the game. Most people believe that when he does commentary he puts a perspective to the game like no one else does, at the same time you get a laugh at him, right!! Public in India expects a certain level of accuracy from us, you might get away of not having not quite that amount of it on a general entertainment channel. Hence for us to keep the accuracy there, to keep the entertainment there and indeed to continue to explore the new areas of technology of the business which allows us to interact with the market and allows the market to inter-react with us makes our job quite demanding."
Q. On the making of 'Taking Guard' and 'Follow Through' "We do listen to our market and we do react to the market. Massive outpouring after the ICC Knockout championship in Sri Lanka was in fact the stimulant for us to do what we are doing in South Africa at the moment. I think we have got certain responsibilities to our viewers, the reaction of the public to the coverage of that particular tournament was such that we had to something in South Africa which would service our loyal viewers prior to the game and after the game, all the feedback came from the public and we just reacted to it. They told us that they wanted creditable comments from the guys who have been bringing cricket to them from last so many years and they where used to them. It was our loyal viewers who told us."
Q. On the coverage and commentators panel of Set MAX "Well, they have gone into the coverage with a different philosophy because they are general entertainment channel. I don't want to get into the business of naming names but I wouldn't have made some of the selection of commentators that they have made. Let me put it in this way-this business of sports communication is an art form. Look at Harsha Bhogle and his knowledge and communication skills on the game. Look at Ravi and Sunil, from when they started to the present day, all of them did an apprenticeship, and that's why they are who they are. You cannot just pluck some one from the cricket team and put him in a commentary role and expect him to perform. Its one thing to have the knowledge, and I am not doubting their ability, understanding and Knowledge of the game also I have huge respect for some of them as players. But there's one thing to have knowledge, but its other thing to communicate that knowledge. I personally think that in some ways it's a god given gift but one has to cultivate it too. Like Sachin today is a very different player in comparison to the 16-year-old lad who went out to represent India. He went through an apprenticeship. Broadcasting is the same. To be honest with you, lets take Boycott, Gavaskar, Bhogle, Shastri and Siddhu, and put them out of the mix; …there isn't too much left mate."
Q. On Aamir Khan's contribution in Super Selector "During the same time when we were discussing the concept of Super selector, some of my friends took me out to watch 'Lagaan'…thankfully it had English sub-title and I rolled. I thought it was the best thing I had seen for a long time. I was in Singapore, and I told Joy, "hey, who is this guy in the film, I want to talk to him, I want to congratulate him, please get him over the phone." The guy was Aamir Khan and I did not realize he was a big star over here. I got him over the phone and congratulated him. The next day Aamir did a phono with our commentary team in Kenya. Few weeks later I was in Mumbai for some work and I met Aamir for lunch. He loves his cricket very passionately. Over the meal I asked Aamir about Super Selector, "hey, you know the market here, will it work?" and Aamir said to me, "Look I have been playing this game with my mates for years, and I reckon it will work." That was a spring board for us and we said to ourselves that everyone could play the game, it was easy...so rather then having a Harsha Bhogle, if we could get some of the celebrities who knew their cricket and were passionate about the game. That's how Naseer happened. Naseer loves his cricket, and we wanted someone who knew the game well. Else one falls into the deadly trap of not being creditable. So it was that meeting with Aamir Khan, which formed the nucleus of explorng, some of the celebrity hosts, and Naseer was a perfect choice. When Aamir said that 'this will work', I had no doubts because here was the guy who made Lagaan and if he said that it would work, it had to work."
Q. On challenges of making cricket programmes when no Cricket is happening "Well the basic philosophy of making such programmes is to allow our viewers to watch the great cricketers in a more educated manner, with of course entertainment being an integral part of it all the time. In next five years, ESPN has more than 1000 days of cricket coverage. This amount of cricket is staggering but for a sports channel there is still not enough cricket to flood the market. So indeed, we need a variety of programmes to appeal to the audience out there to keep them stimulating, to keep them involved in the world of cricket. Think about Super Selector, a programme which has been terribly successful...when Alan Wilkins and Geoffrey Boycott were few points apart and they got very excited when some one in Zimbabwe got some wickets…there lies one of the opportunities to broaden the interest of cricket. Who cares about Zimbabwe, I am a cricket lover, you are a cricket lover, Zimbabwe is not a world power, but if you put them in a bundle with all the other nations in a contest like Super Selector, hey there is some added interest. In terms of some other programmes like 'Sachin' or 'Sunny and Boycs', our objective has been to go under the cover of some of the aspects games. As I have said before, there isn't much cricket for the sports channels so indeed we need to expand the experience. When Sachin talks about some of his innings, he is in fact expanding his experience on a different plane…Some of the things which Sachin said about McGrath or Murali - that's expanding his experience so when viewers watch the Sri Lankan's play or the Aussies play, it will give them some of the insights on what Sachin thinks about these sides. These are some of the challenges and thinking behind doing such programmes. Any one can put out a Cricket cup, but if you can put out a Geoffrey Boycott, a Navjot Singh Siddhu or a Harsha Bhogle around it (who without question is one of the most respected cricket hosts in the country), you will expand the experience and make it more exciting for the viewers."
Q. On Super Selector "Fantasy games are very popular in England and America and indeed one of our executive producers here, Joy Bhattacharya, who had this idea, which came out of a workshop we had. The question was, How do we broaden the interest of the game when India is not playing, how do we inter-react with our audience more? It came from those sorts of discussions. And when you look at the ingredients, it always had to be a winner here. When you look at the make-up of Indian cricket audience, they love to debate the game every time. Everyone has got an opinion on who should be in the playing eleven and people love to play games around cricket. When we put those ingredients together, we always thought that we would be on the side of a winning programme. While I have mentioned fantasy games, super selector was in fact created by an Indian for the Indian market. We wanted quick results like normal fantasy games. We knew that the Indian audiences wanted quick results so we made this unique game. It might come with a fantasy tag but it's a very unique game."
Q. On the recipe of a good sports programme "Well that's a tough one. If you show one programme to hundred people, I recon, all the hundred will have their own set of subjective views. But around the world, wherever you may be, there is something called the production quality of a programme. A television programme is like a jigsaw puzzle. If you take out a couple of pieces from the middle, it doesn't look pretty. And if you take out a couple of pieces on the edges, once again it does not look pretty. So there are lots and lots of things, which go into it. But one thing is certain; you can no longer afford to deliver a poor production quality programme to the Indian viewers. What I mean is that the Lighting, sound and the talent that you use should be of a good standard. I think years ago you could get away with bad production quality, not today. The success of the Millionaire series (KBC) proved that one couldn't deliver a poor production quality programme to the Indian audience. There they had great production quality, a good host and a good format. Zee came along and thought money could fix it, it did not. KBC was a milestone in the history of Indian television. So you cannot give rubbish any more. You got to have your production quality right, you have got to get your production philosophy right, and I think you have to get your market right. The sorts of programme, which I make for the Indian cricket market, are the sorts of programme we make for Australia. You got a more educated market here. Some of the things, which we do here, will go over the head of the Australian viewers. So production quality, solid format, targeting your market, understanding your market a little bit are the stuff, which makes a good sports programme. When you look at me, you see an Australian, but behind me are those thirty production people who are Indians. I tell them more often that I am the felicitator; you guys tell me what will work here, as it's your market."
Q. On the promotions of other sports in India "As a sports broadcaster we would love to see the interest level of Indian audience go up in other sports as well because between a couple of sports channel, you can not fill the entire space with cricket. On a personal perspective I think Cricket will be the king for as long as you and I are working. But there are some interesting signs in the younger generation. Take for example the school quiz we did. The knowledge in the youth of this country in English Premiere League (EPL), in Formula One, in Golf and in Basketball is huge. These are interesting signs. While cricket is King and we are the kings of cricket, some of the other sports, which I have mentioned, will continue to grow without doubt. The companies like us have a big picture in mind, the picture of stimulating the youth of this nation across many sports. Today we are a much stronger part of the Indian community and we will be brining in some new initiatives in the time to come. If I have to list three sports that we are looking to bring into India in a big way then they will be the EPL, Formula One and Golf. As for Hockey, well it is not one of the exciting shows for television but certainly we have our eye on it. We are also looking at Billiards and Snooker very closely."
Q. On the role of Research behind the cricket shows "We have been in the business of Cricket coverage for a long time. We have got a cricket structure in place. For example, we have got probably the most sophisticated computer system on cricket in the world. And any system is as good as the people who operate it. On every ball, which is bowled in this world cup, we record some thirty elements of data. For example, was it around the wicket or over the wicket, the speed of the delivery, what sort of delivery was it, what was the bounce of it, where did it land on the pitch, what happened to it after it went off the pitch, was it on leg, or off middle, then what did the batsmen do, did he middle it, edge it, how accurate was he playing, where were the field position, where was the ball hit, what was the return like, what was the running between the wickets like, ...all that goes into the huge database we have, then we make those graphics which you see. What percentage of shots is Tendulkar middling, all that tells a story, so we are storytellers. Then we have some of these great guys with us who analyze all the data. We are what we call in the third phase of our computer development. We will never stop the phases because indeed technology never stops. But we are at the third phase of the five-phase stage we had set out for four years ago. So when we sit down to make a programme, we have all the elements of the game. For 'Taking Guard' and 'Follow Through' or for our analysis of the New Zealand tour, we always have all the elements of the game. Now we become the Editors of a Newspaper, we tell stories as per our discretion. We have a network of researchers and statisticians, and then we have our personal networks. That phone call with Wasim Akram was because we have a very special relationship with Wasim. So when we sit down to take decisions on the content of a cricket programme, we have a cricket structure to fall back on. And it has taken four years for us to reach where we are. As a producer when we take decisions on the content of a programme, we have so many elements to fall back upon."
Q. On the 'Programme Format' of Taking Guard' and 'Follow Through' "These programmes have been formatted on the pattern News shows, with headlines, phone-ins and graphics. Its not that we haven't addressed the Cricketing issues in this format before; Crash your mind back to the South Africa series, Sachin and ball-tampering controversy. We broke the news and we did it within our telecast of the game. If you remember, we had sent Ravi Shastri to that Press Conference to ask those question which whole of the India wanted to ask. So, probably it looks like we are more news like purely because we haven't got the visuals so we are putting more graphic content up, we are moving into the press conference area a little bit more, which we have done before because we are not there on the ground, so in actual fact it looks like we are more like news, but actually it is a continuation of what we have done in the past. We have thrived on the fact that we have some of the best contacts in the cricketing world which enables us to break the news, if Sachin or Saurav have some problem in terms of their batting, who so they go to? They go to Sunil, or Geoffrey (as was the case with Saurav and Geoffrey spending time in the West Indies)..so we have been doing exactly what we have done so far, only that visually the treatment is little different because of the obvious reasons. The feedback has been quite positive. We have done our own research because there has been a lot of talk of including the female audience in the telecast of cricket. Its easier to quote figures, but we believe that there has not been any increase in the Female audience whatsoever. As a sports channel, we have been doing our service to our viewers and its because of our efforts we can provide creditable assessment on the game. People like Wasim Akram talk to us on phone because of our contacts. The bottom line is that the audience response to these two shows has been very encouraging."
Q. On the challenges of being a Sports channel "One of the important challenges in front of a sports broadcaster is to keep itself abreast with the latest technology. The philosophy at ESPN is that since there are very few sports broadcasters, we wish to entertain and inform our audience at the same time. Also we have to be very accurate in our programming and statistics etc. If we do not do that, I can assure you that this Indian market will jump on you big time. We always believe that we are in the entertainment business as well as the sports business. So when we pick our commentators, for example, we look at those who are creditable plus those who can communicate well. Geoffrey Boycott is a very good analyst of the game. Most people believe that when he does commentary he puts a perspective to the game like no one else does, at the same time you get a laugh at him, right!! Public in India expects a certain level of accuracy from us, you might get away of not having not quite that amount of it on a general entertainment channel. Hence for us to keep the accuracy there, to keep the entertainment there and indeed to continue to explore the new areas of technology of the business which allows us to interact with the market and allows the market to inter-react with us makes our job quite demanding."
Q. On the making of 'Taking Guard' and 'Follow Through' "We do listen to our market and we do react to the market. Massive outpouring after the ICC Knockout championship in Sri Lanka was in fact the stimulant for us to do what we are doing in South Africa at the moment. I think we have got certain responsibilities to our viewers, the reaction of the public to the coverage of that particular tournament was such that we had to something in South Africa which would service our loyal viewers prior to the game and after the game, all the feedback came from the public and we just reacted to it. They told us that they wanted creditable comments from the guys who have been bringing cricket to them from last so many years and they where used to them. It was our loyal viewers who told us."
Q. On the coverage and commentators panel of Set MAX "Well, they have gone into the coverage with a different philosophy because they are general entertainment channel. I don't want to get into the business of naming names but I wouldn't have made some of the selection of commentators that they have made. Let me put it in this way-this business of sports communication is an art form. Look at Harsha Bhogle and his knowledge and communication skills on the game. Look at Ravi and Sunil, from when they started to the present day, all of them did an apprenticeship, and that's why they are who they are. You cannot just pluck some one from the cricket team and put him in a commentary role and expect him to perform. Its one thing to have the knowledge, and I am not doubting their ability, understanding and Knowledge of the game also I have huge respect for some of them as players. But there's one thing to have knowledge, but its other thing to communicate that knowledge. I personally think that in some ways it's a god given gift but one has to cultivate it too. Like Sachin today is a very different player in comparison to the 16-year-old lad who went out to represent India. He went through an apprenticeship. Broadcasting is the same. To be honest with you, lets take Boycott, Gavaskar, Bhogle, Shastri and Siddhu, and put them out of the mix; …there isn't too much left mate."
Q. On Aamir Khan's contribution in Super Selector "During the same time when we were discussing the concept of Super selector, some of my friends took me out to watch 'Lagaan'…thankfully it had English sub-title and I rolled. I thought it was the best thing I had seen for a long time. I was in Singapore, and I told Joy, "hey, who is this guy in the film, I want to talk to him, I want to congratulate him, please get him over the phone." The guy was Aamir Khan and I did not realize he was a big star over here. I got him over the phone and congratulated him. The next day Aamir did a phono with our commentary team in Kenya. Few weeks later I was in Mumbai for some work and I met Aamir for lunch. He loves his cricket very passionately. Over the meal I asked Aamir about Super Selector, "hey, you know the market here, will it work?" and Aamir said to me, "Look I have been playing this game with my mates for years, and I reckon it will work." That was a spring board for us and we said to ourselves that everyone could play the game, it was easy...so rather then having a Harsha Bhogle, if we could get some of the celebrities who knew their cricket and were passionate about the game. That's how Naseer happened. Naseer loves his cricket, and we wanted someone who knew the game well. Else one falls into the deadly trap of not being creditable. So it was that meeting with Aamir Khan, which formed the nucleus of explorng, some of the celebrity hosts, and Naseer was a perfect choice. When Aamir said that 'this will work', I had no doubts because here was the guy who made Lagaan and if he said that it would work, it had to work."
Q. On challenges of making cricket programmes when no Cricket is happening "Well the basic philosophy of making such programmes is to allow our viewers to watch the great cricketers in a more educated manner, with of course entertainment being an integral part of it all the time. In next five years, ESPN has more than 1000 days of cricket coverage. This amount of cricket is staggering but for a sports channel there is still not enough cricket to flood the market. So indeed, we need a variety of programmes to appeal to the audience out there to keep them stimulating, to keep them involved in the world of cricket. Think about Super Selector, a programme which has been terribly successful...when Alan Wilkins and Geoffrey Boycott were few points apart and they got very excited when some one in Zimbabwe got some wickets…there lies one of the opportunities to broaden the interest of cricket. Who cares about Zimbabwe, I am a cricket lover, you are a cricket lover, Zimbabwe is not a world power, but if you put them in a bundle with all the other nations in a contest like Super Selector, hey there is some added interest. In terms of some other programmes like 'Sachin' or 'Sunny and Boycs', our objective has been to go under the cover of some of the aspects games. As I have said before, there isn't much cricket for the sports channels so indeed we need to expand the experience. When Sachin talks about some of his innings, he is in fact expanding his experience on a different plane…Some of the things which Sachin said about McGrath or Murali - that's expanding his experience so when viewers watch the Sri Lankan's play or the Aussies play, it will give them some of the insights on what Sachin thinks about these sides. These are some of the challenges and thinking behind doing such programmes. Any one can put out a Cricket cup, but if you can put out a Geoffrey Boycott, a Navjot Singh Siddhu or a Harsha Bhogle around it (who without question is one of the most respected cricket hosts in the country), you will expand the experience and make it more exciting for the viewers."
Q. On Super Selector "Fantasy games are very popular in England and America and indeed one of our executive producers here, Joy Bhattacharya, who had this idea, which came out of a workshop we had. The question was, How do we broaden the interest of the game when India is not playing, how do we inter-react with our audience more? It came from those sorts of discussions. And when you look at the ingredients, it always had to be a winner here. When you look at the make-up of Indian cricket audience, they love to debate the game every time. Everyone has got an opinion on who should be in the playing eleven and people love to play games around cricket. When we put those ingredients together, we always thought that we would be on the side of a winning programme. While I have mentioned fantasy games, super selector was in fact created by an Indian for the Indian market. We wanted quick results like normal fantasy games. We knew that the Indian audiences wanted quick results so we made this unique game. It might come with a fantasy tag but it's a very unique game."
Q. On the recipe of a good sports programme "Well that's a tough one. If you show one programme to hundred people, I recon, all the hundred will have their own set of subjective views. But around the world, wherever you may be, there is something called the production quality of a programme. A television programme is like a jigsaw puzzle. If you take out a couple of pieces from the middle, it doesn't look pretty. And if you take out a couple of pieces on the edges, once again it does not look pretty. So there are lots and lots of things, which go into it. But one thing is certain; you can no longer afford to deliver a poor production quality programme to the Indian viewers. What I mean is that the Lighting, sound and the talent that you use should be of a good standard. I think years ago you could get away with bad production quality, not today. The success of the Millionaire series (KBC) proved that one couldn't deliver a poor production quality programme to the Indian audience. There they had great production quality, a good host and a good format. Zee came along and thought money could fix it, it did not. KBC was a milestone in the history of Indian television. So you cannot give rubbish any more. You got to have your production quality right, you have got to get your production philosophy right, and I think you have to get your market right. The sorts of programme, which I make for the Indian cricket market, are the sorts of programme we make for Australia. You got a more educated market here. Some of the things, which we do here, will go over the head of the Australian viewers. So production quality, solid format, targeting your market, understanding your market a little bit are the stuff, which makes a good sports programme. When you look at me, you see an Australian, but behind me are those thirty production people who are Indians. I tell them more often that I am the felicitator; you guys tell me what will work here, as it's your market."
Q. On the promotions of other sports in India "As a sports broadcaster we would love to see the interest level of Indian audience go up in other sports as well because between a couple of sports channel, you can not fill the entire space with cricket. On a personal perspective I think Cricket will be the king for as long as you and I are working. But there are some interesting signs in the younger generation. Take for example the school quiz we did. The knowledge in the youth of this country in English Premiere League (EPL), in Formula One, in Golf and in Basketball is huge. These are interesting signs. While cricket is King and we are the kings of cricket, some of the other sports, which I have mentioned, will continue to grow without doubt. The companies like us have a big picture in mind, the picture of stimulating the youth of this nation across many sports. Today we are a much stronger part of the Indian community and we will be brining in some new initiatives in the time to come. If I have to list three sports that we are looking to bring into India in a big way then they will be the EPL, Formula One and Golf. As for Hockey, well it is not one of the exciting shows for television but certainly we have our eye on it. We are also looking at Billiards and Snooker very closely."
Q. On the role of Research behind the cricket shows "We have been in the business of Cricket coverage for a long time. We have got a cricket structure in place. For example, we have got probably the most sophisticated computer system on cricket in the world. And any system is as good as the people who operate it. On every ball, which is bowled in this world cup, we record some thirty elements of data. For example, was it around the wicket or over the wicket, the speed of the delivery, what sort of delivery was it, what was the bounce of it, where did it land on the pitch, what happened to it after it went off the pitch, was it on leg, or off middle, then what did the batsmen do, did he middle it, edge it, how accurate was he playing, where were the field position, where was the ball hit, what was the return like, what was the running between the wickets like, ...all that goes into the huge database we have, then we make those graphics which you see. What percentage of shots is Tendulkar middling, all that tells a story, so we are storytellers. Then we have some of these great guys with us who analyze all the data. We are what we call in the third phase of our computer development. We will never stop the phases because indeed technology never stops. But we are at the third phase of the five-phase stage we had set out for four years ago. So when we sit down to make a programme, we have all the elements of the game. For 'Taking Guard' and 'Follow Through' or for our analysis of the New Zealand tour, we always have all the elements of the game. Now we become the Editors of a Newspaper, we tell stories as per our discretion. We have a network of researchers and statisticians, and then we have our personal networks. That phone call with Wasim Akram was because we have a very special relationship with Wasim. So when we sit down to take decisions on the content of a cricket programme, we have a cricket structure to fall back on. And it has taken four years for us to reach where we are. As a producer when we take decisions on the content of a programme, we have so many elements to fall back upon."
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