In Dubai one night, where I was running the Khaleej Times newspaper, son Tarique called from Mumbai to ask if I had the time to discuss a ‘very important matter.’ I replied that I did.
‘Dad, I don’t know how to say this but…’
‘Go ahead, Tarique… Is it about Sportsweek?’ I asked.
‘Yes, Dad.’
‘Do you think we should close it down?’ I asked, catching the drift. ‘Dad, we’ve been losing a lot of money for a long time now, and it’s throwing the whole group’s finances out of whack. We can’t keep…’
‘I understand Tarique. How much are we losing on Sportsweek?’ I asked.
He mentioned figures—the previous and current year-to-date. ‘Close it down, Tarique,’ I replied, obviously failing to disguise my tremulous voice.
‘But Dad…it’s your baby and you’ve nursed and sustained it for 20 years.’
‘Thanks, Tarique. I appreciate what you’re saying…and I know you’ve wanted to say this for a long time. Thanks for trying to keep it afloat. But the odds were overwhelming from the start, and it was one hell of a ride… God bless you.’
And, that was it.
Even though Sportsweek was revamped in style and content, rechristened and relaunched as Sportsweek and Lifestyle with Sunil Gavaskar as the editor after the Little Master spelt ‘finis’ to his many-splendoured career.
The injection of the Lifestyle element into what was essentially a sports magazine was dictated by the objective to widen the readership base to a wider audience in a rapidly expanding consumer-oriented, aspirational environment driven by higher purchasing power. In keeping with everything he has done in his illustrious career, Gavaskar was no figurehead but applied himself to his new responsibility with sincerity—writing regularly, doing interviews, arranging cover stories and organizing photographs such as the celebrated one of Viv Richards dressed as a maharaja and a boxer.
Also Read: Hours before the start of the historic 1971 West Indies tour, Indian team had no kit to play
But, alas, India Today’s description of sports magazines as waifs and television having become all the rage in the country captured the state of affairs to a tee. Sportsweek and Lifestyle breathed its last in 1989.
In an article headlined ‘Sudden Death—Lack of Advertisements Leads to Sportsweek’s Closure,’ India Today magazine wrote: ‘For many sportsmen and sports fans, the disappearance of Sports week (sic) was like the collapse of an institution. Like its predecessor Sport & Pastime in an earlier era, Sportsweek (sic) was closely identified with the thrills and trauma of Indian sport.’
The article also quoted Tarique, the managing director, as saying, ‘Everyone’s losing money. I’m the guy who blinked,’ adding that following market research, his group was planning to relaunch the magazine in an altered avatar. Detailing reasons for the magazine’s closure, India Today mentioned head honcho of Madison Advertising, Sam Balsara’s response: ‘For the advertiser, television is the primary medium, not a sports magazine, which only ensures duplication of the ad.’
Clayton Murzello has co-authored two books (Cricket at Fever Pitch and Sachin: Born to Bat) with me. He has worked devotedly with our parent organization, the Mid-Day group, for 26 years now (in 2021). He is still with the new owners—the Jagran group. The following are some excerpts from an article he wrote for Mid-Day in 2014:
Historian and author Gulu Ezekiel informs me that it is 25 years this month (January 2014) of the shutting down of Sportsweek, the popular magazine which widely travelled journalist Khalid Ansari started way back in 1968.
It’s a pity Sportsweek failed to survive when it was renamed 173 Sportsweek and Lifestyle and edited by then recently-retired Sunil Gavaskar.
Also Read: Sportsweek, the popular sports magazine with star columnists that was edited by Sunil Gavaskar
In pre-satellite television days, these magazines helped popularise the game immensely. In the early 1970s, Sportsweek ‘covered’ some of their issues with the latest update on Test matches featuring India. And as any collector will tell you, those issues are priceless. In the mid-1980s, a famous actor-cum- passionate sports fan visited my home to borrow a book, which had a collection of sports articles that included an extract from Jesse Owens’ autobiography My Life as Black Man and White Man. He asked if he could see my modest collection and among the few bound volumes of Sportsweek, he spotted the one that contained issues of India’s 1971 triumph in the West Indies. He asked if he could have that volume. I politely refused.
Sportsweek’s popularity gave rise to the need for a cricket quarterly magazine in 1974. In its 10-year existence, it gave cricket fans and statisticians much more than what Sportsweek could fit in their editions. I know of a collector whose complete set was broken when a bound volume containing 1979 issues was reduced to flames in his pathologist friend’s laboratory that caught fire many years ago. The collector hasn’t been able to set it right (pun intended) and the good doctor passed away.
Star columnists are a common sight in newspapers today, but Sportsweek was where it all started in India and Khalid Ansari must be credited for the concept. Getting the most famous name in Indian batting as editor was a big catch in itself. Gavaskar didn’t just have his name printed as editor. He did justice to his role by writing editorials whenever available and even interviewed the most famous names in the sporting world for various cover stories.
Even a quarter century after its closure, some cricket lovers like me, miss the thrill of getting their hands on a new issue every Thursday morning. Well played, Sportsweek (1968-1989).
This excerpt from ‘It’s a Wonderful World: A Memoir,’ by Khalid Ansari, has been published with permission from Rupa Publications India.