Indian Premier League returns to YouTube

Indian Premier League may only be four-years old, but it’s quickly established itself as the hottest new addition to the world of cricket. And again this year, YouTube is bringing you all the action straight from the pitch of this superstar cricket extravaganza.

In partnership with Indiatimes, fans can watch games as they happen, view entire past matches, and enjoy highlight clips of all 74 matches on Indiatimes’ YouTube Channel (www.youtube.com/indiatimes). This fourth instalment of IPL should be even more exciting than last year as two new teams Pune Warriors and Kochi Tuskers Kerala have joined the fray to battle it out with the eight veteran squads for the title.

The 51-day tournament kicked off Friday night with the returning champion Chennai Super Kings besting the Kolkata Knight Riders at home. That very first match and every other game of the IPL season will be webcast globally on YouTube (Note: 5 minute delay in India, match-length delay in U.S.), and the full-length videos of each match will be made available soon after they pull up stumps and retired to the pavillion. And this year everyone can watch the catch-up videos and highlights on their mobile phones as well as their computers.

So tune in as the match is happening. And if you missed a match (or want to watch in a more friendly time zone), view the whole thing later in the Past Matches tab at www.youtube.com/indiatimes. And since this is YouTube, you can always share, rate, and comment on videos throughout the channel, or upload your own video responses to the action.

So get ready for another big season of bouncers, leg breaks and sixes. It’s going to be a fun 51 days.


Posted by Amit Agrawal, Head of Content Partnerships in India, recently watched “I grew up dreaming of this: Sachin”

Indian Premier League bowls wicked googly* to the world on YouTube

(Cross-posted from the YouTube Blog)

When the first ball of this year’s Indian Premier League cricket season is bowled, fans across the planet will have a front row seat in the world’s biggest online sports stadium. Tonight the Deccan Chargers and Kolkata Knight Riders will face off in Mumbai at 8pm IST, and the YouTube global community will be able to tune in to the IPL’s YouTube Channel (www.youtube.com/ipl) for streaming and on-demand access to witness the start of what promises to be one of the most widely-distributed sporting events in history. Fans can watch matches, highlight videos, player interviews and much more all on the IPL’s YouTube channel.


Named by Forbes as the "hottest sports league in the world" with revenues comparable to the world’s most popular leagues, the IPL season is a 60-match, 43-day tournament that features some of the best talent in cricket today. You can come to YouTube and keep up with the action any time, anywhere and connect with fans across the globe. Watch as the match happens, or if you missed a match, tune in later to see what happened. The entire season will be streamed around the world on YouTube, except in the US, where matches will be time-delayed and made available 15 minutes after the match ends.

On the IPL Channel, you’ll see three tabs:

• Today’s Matches: This is where you can watch streamed matches as they happen. (Note that the stream will be delayed by a few minutes.) Click through at any time to see the match scorecard.
• Recent Matches: Catch up any time on the full action of matches that have already happened. Watch Sachin cream the ball through the covers, Warney taking his latest wicket and more.
• Highlights: If you’re short on time, check in here for short videos of player interviews, match highlights, greatest plays and more.

And for all of you who want to cheer or commiserate with others, check out our Twitter gadget on the channel page to be part of the conversation. You can keep up with the discussion on Twitter with the YouTube IPL hashtag (#youtube_ipl). Share, rate and comment on videos throughout the channel, or upload your own video responses to the action. There's also a link so you can join the Official DLF IPL community on Orkut (www.orkut.com/ipl).

We'll be watching the donkey drops, the five-fers, the flippers and floaters, the half-yorkers and slow sweeps — and cheering alongside you!

* A googly is a kind of pitch similar to a baseball pitch or a bowling throw in the game cricket; a wicked googly would be a really good pitch.

Posted by Amit Agarwal, Strategic Partner Development Manager, YouTube