Key components of the Indian sports ecosystem

The Indian sports ecosystem comprises of stakeholders Another key stakeholder, although not involved in
from a wide range of fields, including governance, sports the governance or management of sports, is the
events, manufacturing, retail, infrastructure development, sports fan. Fans bring life to a sport, and are key to
talent scouting and training, and sports marketing. earning sponsorships, media rights, as well as
selling merchandise.
The Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports (MYAS) and the
Sports Authority of India (SAI) are key stakeholders of
the Indian sports ecosystem.
These government bodies are involved extensively in
governance, funding, talent scouting and training (of
players as well as coaches), and infrastructure
development. The autonomous bodies Indian Olympic
Association (IOA), National Sports Federations (NSFs),
State Sports Associations (SSAs) and District Sports
Associations (DSAs) play a major role in organising and
managing sporting events, and talent scouting and
training.
On the other hand, sports goods manufacturing and retail,
and sports marketing activities (such as events and
sponsorship management) are solely under the private
sector. Private for-profit and non-profit organisations also
play an important role in training, funding and
infrastructure development through PublicPrivate
Partnerships (PPPs).

Sports ecosystem of India

Governance structure
Sports in India are governed and managed jointly by
government organisations at the centre and state
levels, along with autonomous federations and
associations. There are two apex bodies which govern
sports in India MYAS and IOA. MYAS governs
sports primarily through SAI, which is responsible for
promoting various sports disciplines (Olympic and
non-Olympic), implementation of government
schemes and managing training centres and other
sports infrastructure. On the other hand, IOA governs
the Olympic sports by overseeing NSFs. The
involvement of the government is high in sports
governance in India, while that of the private and non-
profit institutions is limited. Also, the government
provides financial support to NSFs and sportspersons,
and thus, seeks accountability as well.

Sports governance in India

Source: KPMG in Indias analysis, 2016

Roles and responsibilities of major governing entities
Governing body Key responsibilities

The Department of Sports at MYAS develops infrastructure and builds

capacity to help produce quality athletes to represent India at international
events
Introduces and implements policies (for example, the National Sports
Ministry of
Development Code) for NSFs and other entities involved in sports governance
Youth Affairs
Launches and manages sports development programmes and schemes, such
and Sports
as the Scheme of Assistance to National Sports Federations and National
(MYAS)
Welfare Fund for Sportspersons
Determines the guidelines for recognition of NSFs, the scale of assistance to
be provided to them, conditions for their eligibility to receive government
funding and release of funds to IOA.

Carries out MYAS objectives

Promotes sports in India, and maintains and utilises stadia, including the
Jawaharlal Nehru Sports Complex, Major Dhyan Chand National Stadium and
Indira Gandhi Sports Complex
Releases funds to NSFs and supports them in identifying and training
sportspersons, provides infrastructure and equipment, and any other
Sports Authority assistance as per the government guidelines
of India (SAI) Runs schemes, such as SAI Training Centres (STC) Scheme, National Sports
Talent Contest (NSTC) Scheme and Army Boys Sports Companies (ABSC)
Scheme
Manages and runs two academic wings Netaji Subhas National Institute of
Sports (NSNIS), Patiala and Lakshmibai National College of Physical
Education (LNCPE), Thiruvananthapuram to produce competent coaches,
sports scientists and physical education teachers.

IOA is affiliated with the International Olympic Committee (IOC), Olympic

Council of Asia (OCA) and the Commonwealth Games Federation (CWF)
Manages the preparation and participation of sportspersons in international
sports events, including the Olympic Games, Asian Games, South Asian
Indian Olympic
Games and Commonwealth Games
Association
Receives facilitations from NSFs of each Olympic sport and other institutions,
(IOA)
such as the NSNIS
Organises the National Games that is typically conducted every two years
Liaises with the Government of India for financial support, governs NSFs, and
also promotes Olympic sports in the country.

NSFs are typically affiliated with international bodies representing their

respective sport; NSFs of Olympic sports also need to abide by the guidelines
set by IOA and those of the Olympic Charter of IOC
National Sports Promote their respective sports across the country, for which SSAs and DSAs
Federations assist them
(NSFs) Scout for talented sportspersons, support their training, and organise
tournaments and championships within their respective jurisdictions
Facilitate participation of Indian sportspersons at international events for their
respective sports.
Key challenges faced by the derecognised have been observed to be

Indian sports ecosystem

irregularities in conducting elections, and non-
compliance with the tenure and age restrictions of
the office bearers .In light of these, and several
As the sports sector in India is governed by both other such incidents, the government and the
the central and state governments, it is often courts of law need to take greater responsibility
hampered by bureaucracy and politics. This is for cleaning up the system. While autonomy of
majorly due to low level of private sector federations is essential to provide an
involvement in sports development in India environment that allows for unrestricted growth
except in cricket. Many federations are highly (as has been in the case of cricket), it is also
dependent on government funding for carrying necessary to hold the federations accountable for
out their key objectives, such as organising their actions (or inactions) as they represent India
championships, procuring equipment and training at international sporting events.
sportspersons. The current model of sports
governance not only breeds inefficiencies; issues
around irregular activities have also been reported Conflict of interest within the
in the past. management
The following points elaborate on a couple of Many sports federations are not headed by sports
pressing concerns regarding sports governance in persons but often by people involved in politics as
India: well. In 2015, more than one-half of the
recognised federations had politicians at the
Lack of accountability of sports helm. The major reason for this is understood to
be sports potential to provide a strong connect
federations
with the public. However, this may create a
In the recent past, India has witnessed several conflict of interest wherein the people who are
cases of non-compliance by sports federations. responsible for the development of a sport in
These include a ban imposed on the IOA by the autonomy, may also have close connections with
IOC for appointing corruption-tainted officials at policymakers. This allows for mismanagement to
the helm. Imposed in December 2012, the ban was creep in sports governance.
lifted in February 2014, when IOA conducted fresh
elections. It is imperative that sports is delinked with politics,
both formally and informally. In July 2016, the
Several sports federations have been engrossed in Supreme Court of India took a significant step
a battle for national recognition, which proves to towards improving sports governance; it accepted
be detrimental for sportspersons as well as the major recommendations of the Lodha Committee
countrys standing on the international stage. For on BCCIs governance. These included a bar on
example, the Indian Hockey Federation (IHF) and appointment of civil servants and ministers in the
Hockey India (HI) were involved in a seven year countrys apex body on cricket. Thus, better
long battle for recognition that only ended in governance guidelines can improve efficiencies in
September 2015 when the Court of Arbitration for the system.
Sports (CAS) announced its verdict that allowed HI
to retain its status as Hockeys national body in
India.Similarly, karate is currently going through
a situation wherein the Karate Association of India
(KAI) and the All India Karate Do Federation
(AIKF) are undergoing a legal battle for
recognition, but none of them have received
recognition for the calendar year 2016. Tennis,
gymnastics, basketball and judo federations were
also excluded from the list of recognised NSFs for
the year 2016 due to non-compliance with the
National Sports Development Code (NSDC) of
India. The most common reasons for NSFs getting
 Key metrics of success

A country can assess its progress in sports on the 347 million viewers, a 22 per cent growth over the
basis of four key parameters. These include previous season. As a result of IPLs massive
performance at international sporting events, returns, the incumbent official broadcaster Sony
sports viewership numbers, broadcasters interest Pictures Networks (SPN) India is keen on
in carrying and buying sports properties, and continuing its association with the mega league
investments in marketing or sponsorship money after its initial contract expires in 2017.On the
in the system. other hand, there are other sports, including
football, kabaddi, badminton, hockey and tennis,
Key metrics of success in sports which have grown on cricket-crazy Indians after
the introduction of their respective leagues. Of
these, football and kabaddi took off really well,
evident from the viewership numbers they have
Viewership earned. In their inaugural seasons in 2014, about
435 million viewers tuned in to PKL and 429
million watched ISL.These numbers are

`
comparable to IPLs viewership of 552 million in
Sponsorship the same year. According to Star Sports, PKLs
viewership grew 51 per cent on a cumulative
basis, over its four seasons conducted so far.Pro
Wrestling League (PWL) pulled off a surprise
Broadcasting
debut by garnering an impressive average daily
reach of 31 million viewers in December 2015.
Even the stadium attendance soared at these
events. The average attendance at ISLs first
Performance season was 24,357, only below three of the
worlds biggest football leagues Germanys
Bundesliga, Spains La Liga and the English
Source: KPMG in Indias analysis, 2016
Premier League. Similarly, PWL appealed to the
audiences in Himachal Pradesh, Chandigarh,
Viewership Punjab and Haryana, leading to an impressive
stadium occupancy of over 90 per cent in north
Over the two year period between 2014 and 2015, India. Another evidence of Indias growing
sports viewership in India grew 30 per cent on the interest in other sports is provided by the
back of various sporting events, including the ICC impressive viewership ratings achieved by the
Cricket World Cup, IPL, PKL and ISL. World recently concluded Rio Olympics despite the
Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) is another odd hours. According to data provided by
programme that has a significant fan base in Broadcast Audience Research Council (BARC)
India. Indians are increasingly following several India, the opening ceremony (which kicked off at
sports apart from cricket indicating a drive 4:00 a.m. IST on 6 August 2016) got 0.5 million
towards becoming a multi-sport nation. impressions across all the nine channels
(including Doordarshan and eight-channel
bouquet from the Star India network) it was
Cricket vs everything else
broadcast on. Also, according to Zapr, an
The 2015 ICC Cricket World Cup was watched by a
analytics company, 5.6 million viewers in India
cumulative 635 million Indians until India lost the
tuned in live for the ceremony and 6.1 million
semi-final match against Australia. In 2016, this
watched its repeat telecast later in the day. The
was followed by the ICC World Twenty20, which
viewership spiked when Indian athletes were on
witnessed a cumulative viewership of 730 million.
14.4 million
Moreover, IPLs 2016 season garnered
viewers were recorded during Indias first hockey last two to three years. Basketball infrastructure
match and 15.4 million just an hour later when available in urban areas is developing, and is
Indian tennis stars Leander Paes, Rohan Bopanna attracting female attention too; NBA saw a high
and Sania Mirza played their initial matches.83 female viewership of about 35 per cent in India.88

The encouraging viewership numbers for non-

cricket sports in India indicate an all-inclusive rise Sponsorship
in sports consumption.
Sponsorship in sports primarily comprises five
segments on-ground, team, franchise fee,
International sporting events also garner
sportspersons/endorsements and on-air. In 2015,
healthy acceptance in India the overall sports sponsorship market in India
India has an impressive fan following even for grew approximately 12.5 per cent to INR5,190
sports that have very low representation from the crore.
country. WWE is one such example; the
programme is aired on Ten Sports network which On air sponsorship has consistently accounted for
has enhanced the channels popularity the bulk (52 per cent in 2015) of total sports
consistently. The programmes average weekly advertising in India. It grew 6.7 per cent in 2015,
viewership (per 1,000 minutes of WWE telecast) and the rising popularity of several league-based
rose from 5.7 Gross Rating Points (GRPs) in 2012 tournaments, such as Indian Super League (ISL),
to 9.2 GRPs in 2015.84 Moreover, in January 2016, Pro Kabaddi League (PKL), Pro Wrestling League
thousands of WWE fans flocked to the Indira (PWL) and Hockey India League (HIL) drove the
Gandhi Indoor Stadium, New Delhi to watch the results. Also, on ground sponsorship witnessed a
WWE event live. stark rise of approximately 30 per cent y-o-y in
2015 driven by football and kabaddi, wherein
The recently concluded UEFA Euro Cup had 50.1 on ground sponsorship rose by 91.6 per cent and
million viewers tuned in during the group matches 300 per cent, respectively.
held between 11 and 23 June 2016; these numbers
were achieved despite the late night timings for Indian sports sponsorship market by
the Indian audience. segment (INR00 crore, 201015)

Indian viewers of 2016 UEFA Euro Cup by

state Total 40.3 53.2 44.0 43.8 46.1 51.9

2.7
4.2
6.2
3.3 4.9
2.9 3.8
7.2 4.8 5.6
2.5 4.8
2.8 5.3
4.9
4.6 7.1 6.7 4.6 10.3
7.9
10.4 7.1 7.6

30.0
25.2 26.9
20.0 22.5 22.5

Source: UEFA Euro 2016 | Group matches: 50.1 million viewers tune in, Zapr, 27 June
2016 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015
On air On ground Team
Moreover, in 2014, the FIFA World Cup witnessed
Franchise fee Endorsem ents
a viewership of 55 million, out of which 32 million
were men and 23 million were women. 86 Source: Sporting Nation in the Making-III, ESP Properties SportzPower, 6 April 2016

The viewership for basketball as a game has also

jumped from almost nothing to 50 million in the
Cricket continues its dominance Sponsors betting beyond cricket
In 2015, cricket maintained its stronghold on As India continues its journey from being a single-
Indian sports advertising with a 51 per cent share sport nation to a multi-sport one, sponsors are
in on-ground sponsorship, 61 per cent in team also pouring money to that effect. Leagues and
sponsorship and 64 per cent in endorsements. The teams associated with other sports, including
biggest cricketing event the ICC Cricket World football, kabaddi, hockey, tennis, badminton and
Cup, which is expected to have earned Star India wrestling, have raked in significant money in the
(the official broadcaster) approximately INR600 past couple of years.
crore from sponsorships drove the market. Spot
The number of central sponsors for ISL rose from
rates for a 10 second slot during marquee India
10 in its 2014 season to 18 in the next one,
games were estimated to have hit a new high
doubling the amount of central sponsorship to
at INR25 lakh for the IndiaPakistan match and
INR100 crore in 2015. Primarily due to ISL, the on-
INR15 lakh for the IndiaAustralia semi-final.
ground sponsorship for football skyrocketed at
However, with India crashing out in the semi-final
the rate of 91.6 per cent in 2015 to INR114 crore.
and the World Cup being played in Australia and
Moreover, team sponsorships in football rose 64.2
New Zealand, the revenues did not match up to
per cent in 2015 to INR99 crore, after having
Star Indias expectations of INR850 crore.
grown 227 per cent the previous year. India is
Nonetheless, IPL made up for what was lost in the
also set to host the Fdration Internationale de
World Cup.
Football Association (FIFA) U-17 W orld Cup in
The mega-event raked in INR1,000 crore for the 2017, which would be Indias first opportunity to
broadcaster SPN in its eighth season in 2015.93 host a FIFA tournament; the World Cup is also
Moreover, in the 2016 season, IPL is estimated to likely to attract a significant amount of
have earned SPN INR1,200 crore a sizeable 20 sponsorship. Further, in 2015, PKL generated a
per cent increase. Even though the broadcaster revenue of INR45 crore (in its second season) for
had raised ad rates by about 20 per cent for the its broadcaster and investor Star India; this was
ninth season of IPL, it managed to close 90 per expected to go up to INR70 crore in its fourth
cent of its ad inventory as early as a month before season in 2016.The trend is likely to strengthen
IPL started further with other leagues, including Pro
Wrestling League (PWL), Premier Badminton
Revenue generated by SPN from IPL (INR00 League (PBL) and International Premier Tennis
crore, 200816) League (IPTL), also gaining momentum.
Moreover, it is not just cricketers who are making
12.0 big money through endorsements; other
9.0 10.0
8.0 8.0 sportspersons, such as shuttler Saina Nehwal,
6.5 6.0
4.0 boxer Mary Kom and tennis player Sania Mirza,
3.1
have also benefitted.
These three alone accounted for 40 per cent of the
2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 total endorsements showered on non-cricketers in
Source: IPL 9: W ith over 80 sponsors, its carnival time for brands, exchange4media, 5
2015.It is likely that the new Olympic medalists
May2016
Sakshi Malik and P V Sindhu would also join the
club, indicating a healthy trend for Indian sports.
Corporates bank on sports sponsorships
Broadcasting
to build brands
As a category of sponsorship portfolio, sports is With 675 million people having access to TV in
considered a good brand building and consumer India (as on August 2016), it is the second-largest
engagement platform. The recently concluded Rio market for broadcast media after China.Moreover,
Olympics witnessed an upsurge in sponsorships urban TV reach in the country grew at a CAGR of 7
from brands, including Amazon and Amul. Several per cent during 201316 to 300 million.India is also
brands are increasingly leveraging sports for their currently the second-largest market globally by the
high viewership potential; however, some number of internet subscribers again, only
specifically do it because they intend to create an behind China.
association between sports and their products.For
example, R S Sodhi, Managing Director, Amul, Globally, subscription contributes more to sports
believes that sports sponsorships are appropriate revenue as compared to advertising revenues.
for their brand because milk is a natural source of However, the scenario is quite the opposite in
energy and that is what sportspersons need.The India. Internationally, subscription is almost 90 per
scope of brand visibility provided by sports cent of revenues for sports channels and the rest
events is unmatched. Hence, the Indian sports 10 per cent comes from ad revenues. In India, ad
arena has witnessed a host of loyal sponsors, revenues account for almost 60 per cent of the
such as Sahara India Pariwar and Hero Motocorp. total revenues.
Sahara sponsored the Indian team for over a
decade until December 2013. It also invested in The share of broadcast fees is also a key source of
Pune Warriors, a former IPL team. Similarly, Hero revenue for teams in a league. For instance, more
Motocorp has utilised sports as a medium for than 50 per cent of an IPL teams revenue typically
intense brand building in the Indian as well as comes from the share of the broadcasting fees
global markets. It has sponsored IPL teams and central sponsorship income from the BCCI. It
Delhi Daredevils and Mumbai Indians, and is also is expected that this share may rise given the
the title sponsor of ISL and HIL. A leading digital renewal of broadcast rights of the IPL in 2018,
wallet and e-commerce player also gained which could amount to INR20,100 crore (USD3
significant traction with its internet-savvy target billion) or more.Sports broadcasting in India has
group of youngsters through its investments in taken a new turn with the advent of various sports
2015 ICC Cricket World Cup. As a result, the leagues.
company decided to commit INR500 crore over Broadcasters are vying for fresh properties to
201519 to the sports category, and is likely to acquire, and in turn, are going about increasing
target upcoming leagues in the country. their portfolio of TV channels as well as digital
platforms.Star India and Sony Pictures Networks
(SPN)India have emerged as the two key
players in the Indian market; both are investing
heavily in developing a comprehensive sports
portfolio.

Duopoly on the cards?

The Indian sports broadcasting space comprises
three major players Star India, SPN and ZEE
Entertainment (with its portfolio of Ten Sports,
potentially to be acquired by SPN). Star India has a
portfolio of almost all the major sports properties,
except for IPL, which is under SPNs kitty. Ten
Sports is the third major player with a variety of
properties across sports, including World
Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) and golf.
115However, in August 2016, ZEE announced its

intent to sell its Ten Sports portfolio to SPN for

INR2,600 crore effectively making the market a
duopoly, as other broadcasters such as Neo Sports
have a very small share of the market.117 As SPNs
broadcasting rights over IPL are due to expire in
2017, this deal would help the company in
reducing its dependence over the mega event and
strengthen its bid to compete with the market
leader Star India.
Comparison of major sports properties Digital all the way
currently held by Star India and SPN A rapid increase in internet and smartphone
penetration in the country has enabled Indians to
Sport Star India SPN increasingly watch sports content online. In turn,
broadcasters are capitalising on the trend and
Cricket All BCCI and ICC IPL developing digital platforms for content delivery.
events
Premier Futsal To air IPL until 2017, SPN pays INR700800 crore a
League year and holds the exclusive TV broadcast rights
FIFA World Cup for IPL. However, the digital rights for IPL for the
(2014 and 2018) years 2015, 2016 and 2017 are held by Star India
Indian Super UEFA Euro 2016 for which it paid approximately INR300 crore in
Footbal League La Liga BBVA total. Star India streams sports on starsports.com
l Premier League Serie A TIM and Hotstar (website and mobile application). The
(Soccer Bundesliga FA Cup
FIFA Futsal World IPL digital rights procurement was a premeditated
)
Cup 2016 deal by Star to build Hotstar as a primary
Copa America destination for digital content consumption. This
2016 move proved to be highly impactful for Hotstar,
Hockey India which logged approximately 100 million viewers
League in IPL 2016 a staggering 144
Hockey World per cent rise over its IPL 2015 viewership.
Hockey League None
Moreover, the cumulative viewership of the ICC
All other Hockey
Cricket World Cup 2015 on Hotstar and
India events
Pro Kabaddi
starsports.com touched an impressive 87
League million. 122
The IndiaAustralia semi-final logged
Womens World Kabaddi the most number of views on these platforms a
Kabaddi League
Kabaddi sizeable 50 million to be precise.
Challenge
SPN also owns a digital content delivery platform
International Champions
Premier Tennis Tennis League called Sony LIV. The company used it to broadcast
Tennis League Australian Open UEFA Euro Cup 2016 and FIFA World Cup 2014 in
Wimbledon ATP events India, and is expected to leverage it for the FIFA
French Open World Cup in 2018 as well.
Premier Indian Open
Badminton Super Series While a majority of digital viewership is accounted
Badminton League The India Open for by non-sports content (6070 per cent in case
Grand Prix Gold of Hotstar), the sports category acts as a strong
Basketball None NBA audience gatherer. This is the reason Star India
Total Nonstop and SPN are investing large amounts of money in
Action Wrestling buying digital sports properties.
Contac Pro Wrestling
None Going by the trend, India is likely to witness
t League
sports Ultimate Fighting further an upsurge in sports viewership over
Championship digital platforms. Moreover, digital advertising
Rio Olympics National Football currently accounts for 1012 per cent of the overall
Others 2016 League advertisement expenditure in India, and is likely to
Formula One grow to 25 per cent by 2020.
Source: Sony to take on Star in the sports broadcasting space, Business Standard, 22
January 2014, SPN's sports cluster becomes the fastest growing entity, Business
Standard, 13 June 2016, Big money investment pours in for Indian sports broadcasting,
The National, 3 October 2015, "It's the first time a sports broadcaster will dedicate eight
channels to one tournament": Nitin Kukreja, CEO, Star Sports, on Rio Olympics, Afaqs, 17
June 2016, Star India to move international sports to premium HD channels, The
Economic Times, 12 July 2016, The Future: Now Streaming: Indian Media and
Entertainment Industry Report 2016, KPMG in India, March 2016, Star India website,
www.startv.com, accessed as on 23 August 2016

5
Glam quotient of international events Broadcast in multiple languages has also made it
In 2015, broadcasters started getting increasingly lucrative for regional players to venture into
involved in acquiring the telecast rights for major sponsorships. It gives them access to a national
international events. A rising interest of the Indian platform to expand their reach and cognisance of
audience in such events has led to this trend. their brand apart from reaching their core target
consumers. Relatively regional brands, such as
SPN, through Sony Six, acquired the telecast Anmol Biscuits and Red Chief Shoes, have hence
rights of La Liga, the premier division of the come up as sponsors and have found relevance in
Spanish football league system, for a period of supporting kabaddi teams.
three years. It was the exclusive broadcaster for
the NFL Super Bowl for Indian viewers in 2015. Collaborating to win
Sony Six also acquired the exclusive telecast Sports networks are collaborating to launch co-
rights of the FA Cup and the Series A (prime branded localised multisport channels to provide
football properties), across India, Pakistan, Sri coverage of various sports, such as cricket,
Lanka, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Nepal and Maldives. football, tennis, badminton and field hockey.
The channel has positioned itself as a premier
SPN and ESPN have joined hands to launch co-
destination for watching football.
branded TV channels with Sony Kix of SPN getting
Similarly, in 2015, Star India acquired the rights to rebranded to Sony ESPN. Both broadcasters have
broadcast German football league Bundesliga for also come up with a website and application,
five years across India, Bangladesh, Bhutan, showcasing an amalgamation of technology
Nepal, Sri Lanka and Maldives. The company also integration and enhancement throughout sports.
has rights to air Formula One events in India The alliance with ESPN could help Sony, as the
until the 2022 season. Moreover, it recently aired former is synonymous with sports programming
the 2016 Rio Olympics across its network of and has a high brand recall. ESPNs portfolio of
channels in India, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Maldives, live and non-live contents might also come in
Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka. handy for Sony.

Going local to expand horizons Innovations around traditional sports could help in
Broadcasting of major sports events in regional making it more aspirational. The creation of digital
feeds has become the motto of leading platforms is required for sustained and deep
broadcasters SPN and Star. SPN launched a engagement with real-time analytics.
new sports channel Sony Kix that broadcasts the
games in Tamil and Telugu, while for the Bengali
feed broadcast it chose the networks Bengali
channel, Sony Aath.The idea is to cater to the
regional viewers demand. According to the
broadcasters, these feeds would help garner
incremental increase in viewership.
ICC World Cup 2015 was the first event to be
telecast in six languages, including Tamil (Vijay
TV), Kannada (Suvarna Plus), Malayalam (Asianet
Movies) and Bengali (Star Jalsa) apart from Hindi
and English. Pro Kabaddi League is broadcast by
Star in five languages over eight channels. Its
rival SPN enhanced its broadcast production
quality with regional language feeds for football.
Such a move was beneficial for the regional
advertisers too as it provided them with an
opportunity to grab visibility with ad spots as low
as INR50,000 to INR125,000 for a 10 second spot.
Business of leagues
The years 2008 to 2016 have proved to be crucial
turning points for Indian sports with IPL taking
the country by storm in 2008, and the launch of
several promising leagues since then.

IPL established a successful model for packaging

and marketing a league in India. It was power-
packed with some of the worlds best cricket
players, celebrities and even cheerleaders. It also
televised the auction process, which was helpful
in creating a fan base even before the event
started. Moreover, the fact that it was a cricket
league had its inherent advantages in a country
where the sport is widely regarded as a religion.

The journey has not been so smooth for other

sports, such as hockey, with which it all started.
The Premier Hockey League (PHL) launched in
2005 by the erstwhile hockey NSF Indian Hockey
Federation (IHF), Leisure Sports (a sports
management company) and ESPN Star Sports
was the first professional league in India, but it
failed to garner support from sponsors and
viewers, resulting in its termination in
2008.Similar was the fate of a few others as well.

However, the year 2014 saw the emergence of

some potentially successful leagues, including
PKL, ISL, IPTL and CTL. ISL witnessed a
cumulative TV viewership of 429 million in its
inaugural season in 2014; its viewership grew 26
per cent y-o-y in the 2015 season.155 Similarly, the
first season of PKL (in 2014) was watched by 435
million people, and its viewership increased 20
per cent y-o-y in its second season in 2015 and 35
per cent y-o-y in its third season during January
March 2016.PKL has gone a step further to
introduce two seasons per year, starting 2016.
IPTL also boasts of star players, including Roger
Federer, Rafael Nadal and Andy Murray
effectively pulling a large crowd of 14,000
spectators at the Indira Gandhi Indoor Stadium in
Delhi during its second season in 2015. Apart
from these, there are others such as PWL, which
was watched by an average of 31 million viewers
per day during its first season in 2015.

The future does appear to be bright for Indian

sports, as such leagues help to popularise sports,
make it viable as a career and also bring out
talented sportspersons to the fore.
Economics of leagues and Key sources of revenue for leagues and
franchises franchises
Globally, sports leagues and franchises generate
Comparison of Indian leagues with billions of dollars in revenue every year; in 2014,
the sports events market was valued at INR5.1
major foreign leagues
lakh crore (USD80 billion). Major sources of
In India, the league culture is still in its initial income for leagues are media rights, sponsorships
stages, in comparison to the U.S. and Europe. The and franchise fee, while those for teams are
major leagues in these regions have a history sponsorships, gate fee (ticket sales), merchandise
spanning several decades. Some of the oldest sales, licencing, prize money and a share of
ones include the National Football League (NFL) of central revenue (share of leagues revenues from
the U.S. and Spains La Liga, both of which will media rights and sponsorship passed on to
turn 100 in 2020 and 2029,respectively.The teams), this is a framework for IPL.For teams, the
revenues earned by major global leagues revenue from a leagues central pool is typically
overshadow any league in India, including the IPL. the largest contributor, followed by sponsorship
and gate fee. For example, on an average, an IPL
Revenue of major international leagues team earns 40 per cent of its revenue from the
(INR00 crore, 2015)163,164 central pool of IPL, 33 per cent from sponsorships
and 23 per cent from gate revenues

871.3

636.7 Key revenue streams for IPL teams

355.2
321.7
248.0 Others
187.7 147.5
4%
25.3 1.0 0.7 Gate
revenue
23%

Central
rights
40%
Source: W hich Professional Sports Leagues Make the Most Money?, howmuch.net, 1
July 2016, Pro Kabaddi League signs on 11 sponsors for season 4, Livemint, 27 June
2016, ISL organisers, franchises upbeat ahead of season 2, The Hindu, 22 December
2015, 2016 IPL had an awesome gross revenue of more than $378 million, The American
Bazaar, 13 June 2016
Sponsorship
33%

This indicates that the potential for growth in this

Source: The Future: Now Streaming: Indian Media and Entertainment Industry Report
business is immense. The revenue earned by EPL 2016, KPMG in India, March 2016

from media rights alone grew at approximately 70

In India, the merchandise segment is currently in
per cent from 201013 to 201316, and then again
its nascent stages; the segments revenue suffers
70 per cent from 201316 to 201619. Similarly,
due to high prices and easy availability of
NBAs broadcasting deal witnessed a surge of
counterfeit products in the country.
nearly 180 per cent from that of 200716 to 2016
25. Even IPL, which sold its media rights to SPN
for INR8,200 crore (for 200917 seasons), is
When will teams become profitable?
expecting to earn anywhere between INR16,700 In India, the league culture only started
crore and INR20,100 crore for the next decade developing gradually over the last decade with
starting 2018. many of the operational leagues having gone
through just a couple of seasons. Even in IPL,
which started in 2008, only a few teams have
Factors driving a teams
success
started returning profits, while most of them are
still in the red. In 201415, the season winner
Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) were the most
profitable team with 30 per cent y-o-y growth in According to a Duff & Phelps report on brand
revenues and 54 per cent y-o-y growth in values in IPL, there are six major factors that drive
profits.The only other team that returned profits success for a sports team:
was the runner-up Kings XI Punjab, with a 26 per
cent y-o-y increase in revenues.174 The ability to Key success factors for a sports team
return profits in any season is highly dependent
on the teams performance, as it impacts On-field
sponsorships as well as ticket sales. Improved Marketing
performance
performance also results in extra revenue through
prize money won.

In the first season of ISL, each of the eight Celebrity

Management
franchises are estimated to have lost INR3540 influence
crore. Now two seasons old, it is likely to go
another two (or even more) seasons before teams
break even. Contrarily, PKL which tasted Geographic
Fan engagement
location
success with 435 million viewers in its first
season, and consistent growth in the second and
third seasons as well is likely to perform
Source: PLAYING WITH A STRAIGHT BAT, Duff & Phelps, June 2016
economically better than IPL and ISL.Team
sponsorships rose from as low as INR1015 lakh in Good on-field performance of a team is
the first season to INR24 crore in the second. critical to driving higher sponsorship
According to Supratik Sen, Chief Executive Officer, revenues; in IPL, a top ranking teams lead
Unilazer Sports (owner of Mumbai team U sponsorships (lead chest and limited player
Mumba), the league is still in its investment promotions) can fetch 100 per cent premium
stages, and the team will look at profits after the over that of a poorly performing team.
next season (season 5).Star India, the official An effective marketing strategy can help build
broadcaster and investor in PKL expects the a stronger relationship with the public
league to also turn profitable by 2018. The effectively attracting more sponsors; it can
leagues success can also be attributed to the also unlock the doors to merchandise sales,
nature of the game which is relatively asset which currently has a lot of scope for
light in comparison with cricket and football. monetisation.
Overall, the league format is still in its nascent Celebrity influence can help generate a fan
stages, and industry players and other base beyond the local catchment and also
stakeholders need to take a long-term view of drive sponsorships; for example, the Kolkata
fostering and innovating the leagues to achieve Knight Riders team in IPL has a famous
sustainable benefits. Many leagues still need bollywood actor Shah Rukh Khan as a co-
significant investment to develop and support owner, and this helps the team gain
leading infrastructure. Moreover, longer leagues sponsorships because brands prefer a person
are required for better sustainability, since of his stature endorsing their brand through
sponsors prefer to keep their brands activated the team uniform.
throughout the year instead of just 3045 days. In The management is responsible for team
conclusion, the business of leagues is a long-term selection, and thus, plays a key role in
one, and majority of the leagues and franchises attracting fans by buying marquee players
are likely to take few more years to become who themselves carry a strong fan following.
profitable. Fan engagement efforts can help establish a
loyal fan base, which can effectively help
 monetise the brand through higher ticket and
merchandise sales. Role of the
Geographic location of a team determines the
government and the
federations
size and nature of the local fan base.

Building a loyal fan base Stadia run by the government

A majority of the teams efforts are directed
Sports is a state subject in India and
towards establishing a loyal fan base, as it can significant sports infrastructure is owned and
effectively help monetise the brand. A strong fan managed by the respective state
base means higher ticket and merchandise sales, governments. SAI builds and maintains
and more bargaining power while making stadia and fields on behalf of MYAS
sponsorship deals. It also helps reduce (infrastructure owned and managed by the
dependence on revenues from the central pool. central government). The following
Moreover, it is the passionate fans that keep the stadia/facilities are maintained by the SAI
sport as well as the teams alive and thus, form an
extremely important factor (along with on-field
performance) for success. For example, an ISL
team, Delhi Dynamos has a group of its most
dedicated fans called Dynamos Ultras, which is a
voluntary fan club for the team generating
further support within the city.

Use of social media for fan engagement

Social media is a powerful tool which has
Revenues from the built assets are generated
increasingly gained significance among leagues,
mainly through the Come and Play Scheme
teams as well as players. The game is not just on
(discussed in detail below), and renting out assets
the field anymore, but is also about followers,
to national teams/league franchises for training.
hashtags and conversations on social media. It is as
Use of assets for staging of eventssuch as
intense as the on-field game, with almost every
concerts is still limited owing to the lack of legacy
national league franchise vying for supporters
planning and technology for developing multi-
online. However, only a few manage to get it right.
purpose facilities. SAI has taken efforts to allow
Major considerations for a successful socialmedia online viewing and booking of stadia for sporting
strategy include prioritising among the social media events to enhance asset utilisation. However,
networks, creating a distinct story, collecting and booking of stadia for non-sporting events is still
using feedback, and very importantly, leveraging cumbersome and restricted. Nonetheless, state
the players. Players bring along an already governments should ensure similar ease of access
established, loyal fan base and provide the human for infrastructure maintained by them to boost
connect with fans. asset utilisation.
Sports franchises in India are taking several
initiatives to increase fan engagement, such as
starting a fan page on the official website,
extensively using social media to connect with
fans, arranging for fans to meet team players
and even organising training camps and talent
hunt programmes.
The SAI has also entered into MoUs with different Key features of the Khelo India Scheme include
types of stakeholders to develop training
centres/high performance centres in India. Some I. Organised talent spotting and training -
of these MoUs include:
Funding: The central government scheme will
MoU with leading private academies like the
fund the organisation hosting the annual
Gopichand Badminton Academy for
establishing a SAI Gopichand National competition at all levels i.e. while the scheme
Badminton Academy. While the academy relies on state governments/nodal agencies
utilises assistance from the National Sports authorised by the state government to conduct
Development Fund (NSDF), the SAI would use competitions at the block, district and state
the academy for coaching, talent scouting and level, the competitions will be funded by the
holding training camps central government. The scheme allows the
MoU with international federations and ministry associate and accordingly provides
respective domestic federations to develop financial assistance to the School Games
high performance sports academies at the Federation of India (SGFI) and the Association
existing SAI facilities. For instance, SAI entered of India Universities (AIU), for the conduct of
into an MoU with the International Association these games.
of Athletics Federations and the Athletics
Federation of India to develop a high Timeline for competitions: The scheme
performance academy at the Jawaharlal Nehru mandates states/UTs and the central
Stadium. government to finalise the annual calendar for
Despite the above system for training and talent competitions at the block, district and state/UT
scouting that spreads across India, only 0.0067per level as per the prescribed timelines in the
cent191 of the population in the age group 8-25 operational guidelines of the scheme, in order
years is being trained under various SAI schemes. to avail the central grant for organising the
competitions. The scheme advises state
To ensure effective talent scouting and training, authorities to finalise the calendar for
right from the grassroots level, the Ministry of competitions taking into account games
Youth Affairs (MYAS) has announced the Khelo organised by other associations/federations
India Scheme, to be operational from 2016-17 (such as the SGFI). The guidelines require that
onwards. The scheme aims to develop national the competitions calendar prepared by the
sports through organised talent spotting and states is to be approved by a state level
sports infrastructure creation. The scheme executive committee.
combines the following erstwhile schemes Competition rules: The competitions under the
Rajiv Gandhi Khel Abhiyan (PYKKAscheme): Khelo India Scheme would be conducted in
To provide funds for development of accordance with the rules of the respective
infrastructure in rural areas and organising National Sports Federations for various sports
rural competitions covered in the scheme.
Urban Infrastructure Scheme: To provide
Talent grooming and incentives: Talented
quality sports infrastructure in urban areas
sportspersons identified by the organising
National Sports Talent Search: To search for
committees of the competitions at the district,
young talent
state and national level games would be
Under the Khelo India Scheme, different inducted into various sports promotional
competitions under the erstwhile Rajiv Gandhi schemes as explained above, run by
Khel Abhiyan Scheme have been converged to MYAS/SAI. The scheme also lists the criteria
create a single annual competition structure for scholarships across different levels.
covering all of India to facilitate systematic talent Infrastructure requirements: The guidelines
spotting and close the gaps in the current talent delineate minimum discipline wise facility
scouting and training structure. requirements (of tracks, playfields, courts, etc.)
to be eligible for national games allotment.
This is a step in the right direction to maintain
the minimum quality of standards for
infrastructure built across the country, as
 states are incentivised to host national games MoU with SAI: The beneficiary of the central
due to the potential proliferation of tourism grant for creation of sports
and hospitality, and real estate sectors, in infrastructure/training facilities shall enter into
addition to the boost it provides to state a memorandum of understanding with SAI in
revenues. order to provide the latter access, for a
minimum of 10 years, to the facilities on a time
II. Sports infrastructure creation - sharing basis for training SAI trainees and
holding competitions.
Funding: The scheme allows central grants for The role of the central and state governments as
certain infrastructure projects and sports well as the federations in infrastructure creation is
facilities creation at the state/UT/district/sub- summarised in the figure below:
district level.
Eligible entities for central grant: State
governments/state sports council/state sports
authority, local civic bodies,
schools/colleges/universities under the
central/state governments, sports control
boards.

Role of the government and the federations in infrastructure and training

Note: (1) SGFI- School Games Federation of India, (2) AIU- Association of Indian Universities
Source: KPMG in Indias analysis, 2016
The Khelo India Scheme is a step in the right and converting the same into revenue centres.
direction towards a more integrated competition Higher asset utilisation and revenue generation
structure leading to the national games through could in turn incentivise sports infrastructure
standardised guidelines for organising creation.
competitions and talent scouting, incentive-based Current PPP activity in India: PPP for sports
infrastructure creation (minimum facilities for development in India is limited owing to a lack of
national games allotment) and activity-based standardised guidelines and incentives for states
release of funds (release of grants upon to integrate PPP into their sports policies
finalisation of the games calendar) across all resulting in funding constraints. However, some
states. However, the central and state examples of PPP and PPP-related schemes in India
governments may perhaps further look towards include:
aligning along the following: The Naya Raipur Development Authority is
Developing standardised guidelines for asset building a sports city in Naya Raipur, which
utilisation and role of PPP in sports facility would have facilities like tennis, aquatic and an
creation/management to incorporate sports indoor stadium along the PPP model
policies across all states. (specifically, BOT). Private players are expected
Database creation of successful sportspersons to build the facility and hand it over to the
through IT integration of the state and centre. authority. Some amount of this land is
External access to such a system could enable earmarked for a residential complex, which
the private sector to support deserving could cross-subsidise the sports facilities.
athletes with financial assistance and support. Jindal Steel Works (JSW) has collaborated with
Successful integration of well performing SAI as part of its CSR initiative to oversee the
private academies into the Khelo India upgrading and maintenance of infrastructure at
Scheme as high performance centres for SAIs regional training centre in Hisar. The
training camps and possible induction of latter is expected to monitor the training and
talent scouted during the games. selection of players.
The National Sports Academies scheme
The role of the private sector in infrastructure envisaged by SAI aims to develop sports
creation is discussed in the following section. academies for various sporting disciplines in
collaboration with their respective National
Sports Federations in the PPPmode.
Role of the private sector Critical success factors for successful PPP in India:
Critical success factors for effective use of the PPP
Private sector involvement in sports infrastructure mode for sports infrastructure development and
development and training is through three modes- Indias position across these factors is discussed
Public Private Partnerships (PPPs), for-profit below:
academies and strategic initiatives, and CSR and Integration of PPP into the sports policy of
non-profit participation. states: States may integrate PPP into their
sports policy. Various states in India such as
Public Private Partnerships Gujarat and Rajasthan, have delineated the
The need for successful PPP in sports role of PPP in their sports policy while other
infrastructure development: The involvement of states such as Madhya Pradesh have already
started development of sports cities via the
the private sector in sports infrastructure
PPP mode. The sports policy of Haryana, a
development in India is mainly in the form of
leading sporting state, defines in depth the
PPPs. Successful PPPs are therefore, a key enabler
need for development of sports facilities when
of sports development. PPPs can be explored for developing new commercial/residential
creating infrastructure through Build-operate- spaces.
transfer (BOT) models by contracting construction Favourable PPP policy and direction/incentive
companies specialising in building multi-purpose for PPP in sports from the central government:
centres or allowing professional private sector The Union Budget 2016 focussed on reviving
entities to manage and control the existing PPP198 for infrastructure creation through
state/central government sports infrastructure action for ensuring improved liquidity, easier
with the objective of building commercial models credit rating mechanism, and boosting (Real
Estate Investment Trusts (REITs) and Improving the governance and
Infrastructure Investment Trusts (InvITs), infrastructure of sports
further easing fund flows. In addition, the The government has taken some major initiatives in
central government may develop guidelines this aspect, such as the Khelo India Scheme, which
for PPP in sports policy for states to adopt and focuses on developing sports infrastructure in rural
make available case studies of successful as well as urban areas, encouraging a sporting
implementation of PPP by states in India. The culture through competitions, and identifying and
centre may incentivise states to adopt PPP to nurturing young talent. However, there are a
spur infrastructure creation by using the same multitude of other initiatives that could help the
as a criteria for allotment of national games. country achieve sporting prowess.
Incentivise involvement of the private sector
and non-profit organisations
Self-sustainable (for-profit)
The government can seek the support of the private
academies and other strategic sector and non-profit organisations for sports
initiatives development by providing monetary and/or tax
While private sector involvement in incentives for establishing sports training facilities,
stadium/sports city creation is mainly through talent scouting and organisation of leagues and
the PPP mode, several self-sustainable ventures tournaments.
and strategic initiatives exist in the training and
Provide financial security to sportspersons
academies space. Several top ranking academies
Currently, sports is a high-risk proposition for the
are run by former sportspersons themselves and
Indian youth. The government can significantly
have produced some leading players. Some of
the top private academies include improve financial assistance provided to
sportspersons and make it a lucrative career option
to increase participation.
Gopichand Badminton Academy
GunforGlory Decouple politics from sports
Mary Kom Boxing Academy To have former sportspersons of proven ability
Mahesh Bhupathi Tennis Academy leading sports bodies such as NSFs, can help
Prakash Padukone Badminton Academy achieve better visibility for each sport along with
Baichung Bhutia Football Schools
reduction in inefficiencies.
Bhiwani Boxing Club
While support in terms of land from the government Increase the use of PPP for infrastructure
and financial assistance from NSDF are often development
provided, the government may also get into The government can utilise the PPP model to
partnerships/MoUs with these academies to organise enhance and speed-up infrastructure development
training camps and recognise them as high in rural as well as urban areas. Relaxations in
performance centres. Moreover, the government policies regarding credit facilitation, taxation,
needs to ensure easier financing, availability of control, ownership and management of
greater pool of trained professionals and more infrastructure can help attract companies in this
revenue streams as the industry matures (sale of space.
trained players to leagues/franchises, naming rights,
etc.). Steps in this direction can go a long way in
Adoption of leading practices
ensuring sustainability of these academies. There are various models of sports governance
and development, which are efficient and
Advent of leagues is seeing a rise in strategic transparent, and have proved to be successful for
initiatives by league promoters and franchises to different countries. For example, China and the
invest in grassroots infrastructure, training and U.S. have contrasting, but successful sports
talent scouting to actively engage communities and models.
develop a culture for their respective sports,
ensuring long-term sustainability of their commercial
properties (leagues and franchises). For instance,
IMG Reliance has entered into a 30 year partnership
with Basketball Federation of India (BFI) and a 15
year partnership with the All India Football
Federation (AIFF).These partnerships entail BFI and
AIFF granting commercial rights to all basketball and
football properties (sponsorship, advertising,
broadcasting, merchandising, intellectual property,
new league and franchise rights, etc.) aimed at
developing basketball and football from the
grassroots level to a professional league.
 Therefore, India could gain by utilising leading practices of
Key initiatives which the private for-profit and
sporting nations to develop a comprehensive framework for sports non-profit entities can undertake
governance and management.
Setting up leagues: In the past two to three
Building a culture of sports years, India has witnessed a surge in the
According to the Managing Director of a leading sportswear brand number of leagues set-up across multiple
in India, the most important element for developing a culture of sports including football, kabaddi, wrestling,
sports in India is a change in the mindset of Indian parents208, who badminton and hockey. More league-based
typically discourage their children from spending too much time tournaments for other sports that India has
the potential to excel in (for example, archery,
on sports. The key to countering this mindset is a change at the
boxing and shooting) can help further
base level, where talent can be identified and groomed at an early
promote the idea of sports as a viable career
age thus providing confidence to Indian parents. option.
When legendary Brazilian footballer Pele visited India in October Organise school level tournaments for talent
2015, his advice on how to develop football in the country was scouting: Several corporates, non-profits and
start working at the base, it is important to train kids for the professional leagues in the country are
involved in identifying young sporting talent
future.
through small-scale tournaments and training
Therefore, in order to develop a strong sporting culture in India, programmes. However, the accessibility of
the government and the private sector/non-profits can work in these programmes is limited, and thus, many
tandem and contribute to grassroots development. more organisations are needed to expand the
reach to rural areas aswell.
Key initiatives the government can take Provide soft infrastructure: In addition to the
physical infrastructure, sportspersons also
Introduce sports in need soft infrastructure for their
school/university development; non-profits can go a long way
curriculum: in grooming talented sportspersons through
mentorship programmes and facilitating
Currently, many of the schools, colleges and universities training for the coaches.
focus only on
academic development of children. The government can
mandate these academic Conclusion
institutions to introduce physical education and participation
in sports as a part of the curriculum to provide every student India has a long journey ahead on its path to
an exposure to sports. Sports could be treated developing a strong sports culture. However, the
equally with academics by introducing it as a subject with equal ongoing developments indicate a promising future. A
weightage in examinations. This can be done by working with rising number of sports start-ups, significant growth
the governing bodies such as the Central Board of Secondary in gym memberships and the increasing number of
Education (CBSE), Council for the Indian School Certificate marathoners in the country, indicate a clear trend of
Examinations (CISCE), state boards and All India Council for growing consciousness about health and fitness
Technical Education (AICTE). amongst the Indian youth.215 The early success
Partner with foreign counterparts: The Indian government can
achieved by league- based events across multiple
partner with foreign governments to enable knowledge transfer
sports indicates a strong potential for Indians to
that is mutually beneficial. Special programmes could be
arranged for introducing Indian sportspersons to world class consume sports other than cricket. This also
training in sports where India has the potential to excel, but is encourages more and more people to consider
lacking in skill set (and vice versa). For example, India is sports as a profession for themselves or their
referred to as the sleeping giant of football; the countrys children. Increasing involvement of non-profits as
budding footballers could gain a lot from a comprehensive well as for-profit organisations in growth and
long-term development programme, which may far exceed the development of budding sportspersons is also a
benefits of having foreign coaches for a short duration. boon for the country. Moreover, with the introduction
of schemes such Khelo India, the government is
working on providing a robust structure for sports
development. In essence, Indias road to sporting
glory is brightly lit with an inclusive effort from all the
stakeholders.