Pro Kabaddi League 2017 Season 5: Sponsorship revenue multiplies over four times, reflects growth in popularity

The PKL has overtaken the IPL in three states in terms of viewership

What’s the story?

The Pro Kabaddi League Season 5 is all set to start on July 28 and will be bigger and better than ever, with four new teams. The format of the new league is a truly innovative one, with the teams divided into two zones of six each on the basis of their marketability and geographical proximity.

Fans are geared up for what promises to be a historic tournament in Indian sport and so are the advertisers, who are ready to invest more and more money to grab eyeballs. The new season will feature almost 140 matches and will last three months, and marketers are putting great faith in the competition.

“Season 4 of PKL witnessed higher ratings than IPL in three states – Maharashtra, Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh, that is 41% as compared to IPL’s 21% as per Star’s internal analysis,” said Shubranshu Singh, Executive Vice President and Head of Marketing, Star India.

“For Season 5, our goal was to create a high-impact tournament which evokes euphoric sentiment among fans for their favourite teams. Strong contenders will be seen clashing in the action-packed 3 months of the league. The longer duration of the league, in addition to 12 teams battling in 138 matches, will give fans an exciting season of kabaddi to cheer for,” said League Commissioner Anupam Goswami.

Related: Pro Kabaddi League 2017, Season 5 Official Schedule: PKL 5 Time Table & Venue Details, Download PDF & Image

In case you didn’t know

The Pro Kabaddi League has grown rapidly in the last few seasons and has made what was a typically rural sport into a multi-million dollar entity. The last four seasons have recorded a 51% cumulative growth, which is more than any other league of its kind in the country.

The heart of the matter

At an event in Mumbai yesterday, Star Sports executives revealed that sponsorship income has increased by 320%, which means a multiplication of more than four times. It was also declared that the consideration of purchases for sponsorships has increased from 59% to 71%, a huge jump.

Group M, a media investment management company, in a report had also stated that sponsorship in kabaddi has grown by 13% every year and that cricket’s contribution among all sports has fallen.

What’s next?

The fifth season will get underway in Hyderabad on the 28^th of July.

Author’s take

It is not surprising to see advertisers turning to kabaddi, given its huge popularity and mass appeal.