In its 2023 edition, the Pro Kabaddi League logged upwards of 351 million viewers, which was a 20% jump over the 2022 edition. And proving critics wrong, the viewership surge was driven by premium audiences, with 65% of the viewership coming from NCCS AB households. The league’s viewership in megacities witnessed a massive 57% growth. To top it all, an overwhelming 70% of the league’s reach on TV came from viewers below 40 years of age —meaning younger audiences were watching sports that were not cricket. The league managers are hoping that PKL 2024 will add another 50 million viewers, taking the overall viewership to around 70% of IPL.
Add to that the fact that after IPL, athletes who earn the biggest pay-cheques in the country are from PKL, and Kabaddi has surely found its place under the sun. But have advertising revenues from the property followed the viewership trajectory?
Of course, there’s immense hope riding on the league. Overall, the league’s revenue is expected to increase from Rs 200 crore last season to around Rs 350 crore this year. The broadcaster has secured eight sponsors across linear, digital, and on-ground, including brands like Dream11, Shriram Finance, ROFF, Parimatch Sports, HP Lubricants, and Mother Dairy.
The ad rates, however, haven’t changed — official media rights holder Disney Star has held the rates at Rs 1.25 lakh for a 10-second spot, the same as last season. The sponsorship packages start at Rs 2 crore and go up to Rs 5 crore, show reports.
“One issue with a high-intensity game like Kabaddi is sustaining audience interests over a two-month window. (The PKL started on October 18 this year; the finals will be played on December 29),” says a sports consultant, who didn’t want to be identified in the story. “Primarily because of the floating time window of PKL, media planners and brand managers might find it difficult to align their campaigns with PKL,” says Ajimon Francis, managing director, Brand Finance India
To give credit where it’s due, Kabaddi is already among the top 3 sports in the country with 280 million viewers, as per the Ormax Sports Audience Report 2024. A bigger 55-56% of the viewership comes from the Hindi heartland, with the south accounting for the rest. Analysts heap much praise on PKL for transforming the sport into a made-for-TV league with franchisees breaking the bank to sign up top-notch players (Tamil Thalaivas made headlines this year by signing star raider Sachin Tanwar for a massive Rs 2.15 crore.)
In other words, while PKL viewership has grown by leap and bounds, it will be some more time before ad revenues catch up.