THE BUSINESS OF SA20: GRAEME SMITH

As Betway SA20 gears up for an anticipated Season 2, League Commissioner, Graeme Smith, outlines some of the key commercial successes that made Season 1 an unprecedented success. He delves into the strategy to grow the League into a commercially viable entity that will bring an unparalleled fan experience, world-class cricket entertainment and stand up to become the best T20 Cricket League in the world outside of India.

What did it take to get Betway SA20 off the ground?

It was a proud moment to get the League off the ground, to the have the right people in the room ready to sign off on the vision. We built a shareholding outside of the Federation for the first time ever, with Cricket South Africa still being the majority as the licensee of cricket in the country, but it was a really strong broadcast deal with SuperSport that formed the base of building the product. Off that broadcast deal, the product was built to take it to market and through that bidding process, the next most important thing was to attract the right type of partners. It was a huge milestone for us to be able to attract the six IPL teams that won the bid to be a part of Betway SA20 and that for me was kind of the next big steppingstone in the building of the project. We are the first league that has stand-alone broadcast in the world, most of the time, it gets thrown into the Federation’s bilateral deal and it gets bundled in there. For the first time ever, people started to back a stand-alone entity outside India, which was SA20.

How crucial was the Indian broadcaster and that market strategically?

Viacom’s investment in the League was ground-breaking. We were their first cricket property that they invested in, since then they have acquired BCCI rights, IPL rights and various other content, their platform has grown immensely. I remember signing the contract in Dubai and being over the moon, it just set us up as a League in an incredible way. As a partner, Viacom, are at the forefront of the digital future and to learn from them and to be able to access the way that they think about these things really does help us in South Africa to be at the forefront of global thinking. It’s not only commercial partnership, it’s an exposure to the global thinking that is also key to the growth of Betway SA20.

How would you describe that feeling when the first ball was bowled in front of a sold-out Newlands crowd?

I think all of us that were involved in Season 1 see that build-up as one big work blur! Obviously, the excitement was huge, when you are building something unique, you want it to be special. You feel the stresses and the pressure of being able to attract the right type of players, whether the team is going to be built the right way, how competitive the League will be, are the fans going to turnout. Personally, standing inside those stadiums in the first week, travelling to the first game in each stadium touched me on a number of levels. To see the fans coming back to support cricket after cricket has gone through a lot of turmoil, and to feel the vibrancy back in the game was simply amazing. Watching Jofra Archer bowling to Jos Buttler or Donovan Ferreira or Brevis or youngsters that are coming through really stands out as the highlight for me. Feeling the atmosphere in each stadium and the colours of the teams just coming to life was a moment I think will stay with me forever.

What do the six IPL-owned teams bring to SA20?

The six franchises are huge business entities and they bring 15 years of premium franchise experience working in the IPL. The bring an incredible business ability, which increases the level and standard of the cricket and administration level through the personnel they bring, how they operate is brilliant. If you move to the cricketing side, you start adding their scouting ability, the way they think about the game, coaches, physios, fitness trainers; you are bringing in top level people to the game in South Africa to lift the room in many ways. That is what SA20 wants to be on a cricketing level, we want to lift the room, we want to elevate 70 odd players every season. That ultimately starts to benefit the cricket landscape in South Africa and the Proteas stay strong.

What innovation did SuperSport, host broadcaster and majority shareholder bring to the viewing experience?

Our partnership with SuperSport is the basis and backbone of building this product. The commercials and support from the biggest broadcaster in Sub-Saharan Africa is huge. Without their expertise, their start up help, the commercials on the broadcast we wouldn’t have a product to take to the market. With production operating at an international scale with 26-27 cameras, it gave our domestic talent an opportunity to be exposed to a different level of pressure. We’ve worked together to elevate the viewing experience and how the fans interact with the broadcast. We have some great initiatives to deliver something unique to the viewers in Season 2 and we look forward to building the partnership.

The League has shown it is a strong commercial entity in a tough climate with the announcement major partnerships with some exciting South African brands, what do these partnerships bring to the League?

Going back to Season 1, Betway came in as our title partner, and finding partners that want to come in at that level and back a product is never easy when you don’t have a use case. As a partner, a lot of their activations were a huge success of Season 1. We’ve thoroughly enjoyed working with them, we feel like they’re a product that also challenges us on a number of level to be better, to think about things slightly differently, to operate slightly differently, so they bring a lot of expertise.

As we build to Season 2, we have acquired some exciting key strategic partnerships which will also elevate the overall fan experience at the stadiums and for those watching at home, or on their devices on the road.

rain is a fantastic partner; they are innovating and they are growing. They are a newer telco in South Africa, and have learnt to be agile and dynamic. The tech side is huge for us, connectivity in stadium is important along with looking at opportunities that are aligned with the way sport is viewed globally. The second, third screen cameras, people being able to connect in stadiums and interact, order stuff to your seat, all those sort of elements are opportunities that can come into the future, connectivity is a huge part of our lives.

Castle Lite are also a new partner and we’re very excited about this collaboration. They are a huge entity, they bring the lite side to life, and will bring immense value to the fan experience in the stadium as well.

The fan is important to us, especially when we make commercial partnership decisions. We are always thinking about the fans in the stands, our fans at home and how we can create a better experience for them.

It has been fantastic to find commercial partners that want to be a part of SA20 and want to build a partnership with us, hopefully that will go from strength to strength.

What can we look forward to in Season 2?

The six teams are shaping up really strong, there is a lot of local and international talent, they are all very competitive. I think the cricket is going to be at a high level, I am excited about that. For us again the fan experience is going to be crucial, we want the people to come out in the numbers and to create an unmatched vibe and atmosphere. That is the  goosebump moment for us, when you are standing in the stadiums, seeing people having an incredible time, that is something for us that we will never take for granted. So from Jan 10th to Feb 10th, we want to own cricket, we want to own summer, we just want people to look forward to it every year.