Sports marketing: A revolution in the development of sports in India

Abstract

Leagues and franchises in India are increasingly improving and are developing programs aimed at identifying and nurturing young talent. The future does appear to be bright for Indian sports, as such leagues help to popularize sports, make it viable as a career and also bring out talented sportsperson to the limelight. Moreover, cricket continues to dominate Indian sports, however advertisers, broadcasters, and viewers, have also increasingly gained interest in other sports including kabaddi, football, hockey and badminton. These sports have attracted more sportspersons, viewership, broadcasters, sponsors into the business of sport in India. This gave various other sports leagues (IPL, ISL, PKL, HIL, PBL) an opportunity to make their own space in the market and they are increasing Y-O-Y in India. The sports viewership on television, with around 90 per cent of growth, has gained most in the last four years among other genres, as stated by Broadcast Audience Research Council (BARC) India in the yearly report of 2019.