Lalit Modi

Yes. To use a cricket analogy here, this would be like you are a batter facing the last ball of the game and your team is down by five runs and you need to hit a six to win. IPL hits a six.

Yes. To use a cricket analogy here, this would be like you are a batter facing the last ball of the game and your team is down by five runs and you need to hit a six to win. IPL hits a six.

If it hasn't been obvious enough from what we've been implying throughout the episode, the underworld of India and the mafia is definitely involved in all of this. And that is going to come up in a minute. So it might not be an exaggeration to say lives are being bet on this to some extent. So, April 18th, 2008. First game, first match happens.

If it hasn't been obvious enough from what we've been implying throughout the episode, the underworld of India and the mafia is definitely involved in all of this. And that is going to come up in a minute. So it might not be an exaggeration to say lives are being bet on this to some extent. So, April 18th, 2008. First game, first match happens.

The Royal Challengers Bangalore has the visiting team versus the home Kolkata Knight Riders, owned, of course, by the one and only Shah Rukh Khan. He's there. He's leading the parade into the stadium, doing the big opening event broadcast around the country. Every TV is watching.

The Royal Challengers Bangalore has the visiting team versus the home Kolkata Knight Riders, owned, of course, by the one and only Shah Rukh Khan. He's there. He's leading the parade into the stadium, doing the big opening event broadcast around the country. Every TV is watching.

And in the game, one of the star players for the Knight Riders, the home Knight Riders, Brendan McCollum, interestingly here, international player, obviously not an Indian, but bought at auction by the Knight Riders, hits 158 in that first game for the Kolkata Knight Riders to win. That number probably means nothing to many of you who are not cricket fans yet.

And in the game, one of the star players for the Knight Riders, the home Knight Riders, Brendan McCollum, interestingly here, international player, obviously not an Indian, but bought at auction by the Knight Riders, hits 158 in that first game for the Kolkata Knight Riders to win. That number probably means nothing to many of you who are not cricket fans yet.

I say yet because you might become one after listening to all this. And the people of you who do know cricket are like, oh, yeah, that was one of the greatest moments of all time.

I say yet because you might become one after listening to all this. And the people of you who do know cricket are like, oh, yeah, that was one of the greatest moments of all time.

To hit 158, which means be responsible for 158 runs in a T20 game where your entire team is only facing 120 balls, pitches, opportunities to score, and you personally score 158 runs on the balls that you face, that is an epic performance.

To hit 158, which means be responsible for 158 runs in a T20 game where your entire team is only facing 120 balls, pitches, opportunities to score, and you personally score 158 runs on the balls that you face, that is an epic performance.

There's a lot that would need to go into that. From the IPL's perspective, this could not be a better storyline. So the whole season basically goes amazingly. The average... TV share viewership for the entire season is 4.9% of all active televisions in India are watching IPL, like on average. And the first season? First season, yes. A lot of TVs. There is no single soap opera between 8 and 11 p.m.

There's a lot that would need to go into that. From the IPL's perspective, this could not be a better storyline. So the whole season basically goes amazingly. The average... TV share viewership for the entire season is 4.9% of all active televisions in India are watching IPL, like on average. And the first season? First season, yes. A lot of TVs. There is no single soap opera between 8 and 11 p.m.

that is getting that kind of viewer share in India. It works. The final match, the championship match, is won in the last ball by the underdog, Rajasthan Royals, the cheapos, in dramatic fashion. That final gets 10% viewership share of all TVs in India are tuned in to that final match.

that is getting that kind of viewer share in India. It works. The final match, the championship match, is won in the last ball by the underdog, Rajasthan Royals, the cheapos, in dramatic fashion. That final gets 10% viewership share of all TVs in India are tuned in to that final match.

5% of the central meteorites deal. And then that prize pool is shared among the teams that make the playoffs with the winner obviously getting the most.

5% of the central meteorites deal. And then that prize pool is shared among the teams that make the playoffs with the winner obviously getting the most.

Yes, this is the great irony of the NFL that we learned after doing our episode and we talked about when we reprised it on the Armchair Expert podcast, which was super fun with Dax and Monica. Winning the Super Bowl is actually like a net negative economic event for an NFL team. Now, in the long term, of course, it's super positive. It's super positive.

Yes, this is the great irony of the NFL that we learned after doing our episode and we talked about when we reprised it on the Armchair Expert podcast, which was super fun with Dax and Monica. Winning the Super Bowl is actually like a net negative economic event for an NFL team. Now, in the long term, of course, it's super positive. It's super positive.