Sporting Nation in the Making III

SPORTING NATION
IN THE MAKING-III

ESP Properties - SportzPower
India Sports Sponsorship Report 2016

©GroupM Media India Private Limited and Sportz Network Private Limited

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FOREWORD Vinit Karnik
Business Head - ESP Properties
The future of sport in India is fast changing and this has major
implications for those organizations wishing to use it as a [email protected]
communication medium. On one hand, taking cues from Big Brother
Cricket, sports teams and federations are beginning to understand Thomas Abraham
how to market themselves and what corporate sponsors are seeking Co-Founder, SportzPower
from them. On the other hand, there is still a long, long way to go [email protected]
before the sports industry as a whole reaches the level of maturity
seen in more evolved markets.

The use of sport in corporate and brand development in India
continues to grow steadily. In 2015, Sport accounted for 10.4% of total
media spending at `51854 million / $798 million, rising 12.3% from
`46165 million / $709 million in the previous calendar.

The third edition of a landmark collaboration between ESP Properties
(the Entertainment & Sports arm of GroupM) and SportzPower (India’s
leading provider of sports business news) to excavate and present the
trends and developments in the Indian Sports Industry from a
Sponsorship outlook provides a good perch from which multiple
insights have been garnered into the evolution of this dynamic sector.

During this period, we’ve seen more change in the landscape of Indian
Sports with the successful launch of the Pro Wrestling League adding
to the mix as Pro Kabbadi League (PKL) and Indian Super League (ISL)
in particular deepened their engagement with Indian fans.

This report covers the size of sports industry of India in 4 parts — On
Ground Sponsorship, Team Sponsorship & Franchise Fee, Athlete
Management, and On Air. Each chapter also covers key trends on
investment in order to provide a perspective. The report also captures
the digital data (social conversations & search) in each of the leagues
(IPL, ISL, PKL, PWL, HIL, IPTL) in order to increase its utility to Rights
Owners, Advertisers, and Agencies

We gratefully acknowledge the valuable inputs provided by rights
owners, agencies, and industry participants who have provided
valuable information and support during the preparation of this report.

We hope that you will find this report useful and informative. Any
feedback or suggestions to enhance future editions of this report are
most welcome.

SPORTS INDUSTRY IN INDIA -

THE PICTURE
IS BRIGHT

A lot happened through 2015 in the Sporting firmament, of which came cheap. Production costs alone were
both in India and further afield. Much of it Good; some of it reportedly in the region of `1700 million / $26.2 million.
Bad; and a bit of it downright Ugly. In the balance however, And Star is clearly setting the bar in shaping how sports
Sport came out on the Plus side in the year under review – programming will be delivered in the country, going
Cleaner; Stronger; Wealthier. forward.

It was a year that saw the world’s most powerful global It was also the year when the last rites were performed on
sporting body – FIFA – and the world’s most powerful the Champions League Twenty20. BCCI’s decision to
national sporting body – BCCI – brought to heel. Both have finally jettison the CLT20 not only removed a deadweight
been taken, kicking and screaming, to the cleaners. In the from the Star Sports’ cricket property line-up, but also
case of FIFA, it has a new leader in place in Gianni Infantino closed the chapter on a tournament that from Day One
and has announced a set of reform measures that bode had failed to draw the interest of fans, both on-ground and
well for the Beautiful Game going forward. As for the BCCI, on-air.
its clean-up is by no means over. But keeping in mind that
both bodies remain in rude financial health, their respective It was a good year for the country’s Number 2 game as
stakeholders will be the better for it at the end of it all. well. At least on one level, though not so on another. The
IMG-Reliance-Star co-owned Indian Super League
BCCI’s governance issues aside, Cricket swung back in a witnessed a significant improvement in the quality of
big way in 2015. The IPL – cricket’s “bellwether stock” – football on show, as well as a big upswing in stadium
shrugged off the lows of 2014 and roared back, both attendances.
ratings and revenue wise. India’s Money League mopped
up `8000 million / $123 million net in ad sales for the Sony Not so good was the news from the I-League, which
Network. ended the season with exit announcements from Pune FC
and Bharat FC, the direct-entry side from the previous
It was also an ICC World Cup year. But the unfavorable season; lack of a “long-term vision" for the league was
timings of the Australia-New Zealand co-hosted mega cited as the reason. Soon after, Royal Wahingdoh, another
event, added to India’s going out in the semis, meant host debutant club from the previous season, joined the quit
broadcaster Star Sports could not go beyond `5000 million league movement. So an 11-team top tier club league that
/ $76.92 million net on-air ad sales revenues. Looked at in started its season in a sorry state to begin with, has been
another way though, the World Cup saw Innovations such reduced to a 9-team league in the 2016 edition of the
as feeds in regional languages, the first global telecast of tournament. This is NOT what any country’s top tier club
cricket in 4K and drone cameras above the stadiums, none league should look like, let alone one the size of India.

Which is why one recurring motif that kept coming up was Speaking of Burman, who is one among four equal part
a future where the ISL and the I-League were merged. stakeholders in IPL franchise Kings XI Punjab, he has lost
When and how it will happen remains a matter for his appetite for investing in sports leagues after burning
speculation but it could well happen as early as 2017. his fingers in HIL as well as the Indian Badminton League,
which went AWOL for two years after its inaugural edition
2017 is also when the FIFA Under-17 World Cup comes to in 2013. In 2015 however, the Badminton Association of
India, preparations for the staging of which requires the India got its act together, first by terminating the contract
upgrade of stadia in the six shortlisted host cities of Delhi, of its commercial partner Sporty Solutionz in IBL and
Kolkata, Guwahati, Mumbai, Goa and Kochi. The world taking over its running. Subsequently, the league returned
class infrastructure is the legacy that will be handed over under a new name in 2016 as the Premier Badminton
to the ISL teams from those respective cities when the League for its second season, which ran from 2–17
mega event is done and dusted. January.

It was the year when there was a cleaning out in Kabaddi. However, 2015 did not end without a new league tale to
The assumption made in the 2015 Report that two tell. And it came out "of left field" at the fag end of the year
leagues – Pro Kabaddi League and World Kabaddi League in the form of Pro Wrestling League (PWL). Conceived and
– as they promoted two formats of the ancient Indian put together by sports management agency ProSportify,
sport – square style and circle style – could both PWL suffered technical glitches galore, poorly managed
potentially find their respective areas of influence and fan ticket sales, and the like; but it still came out a winner as
support, without necessarily cannibalizing each other, the fans took to it big time.
proved overly optimistic. There was just not enough
sponsor support for WKL so no 2015 edition either. Played from December 10 to December 27, PWL
sustained its launch ratings to finish its inaugural season
It was a completely different story for PKL. It was a big hit as the second most viewed non-cricket tournament after
in 2014 and got even bigger in 2015. So much so that the Star Sports Pro Kabaddi League.
principal owner Star (it took a controlling 74% stake in the
league’s promoter company Mashal Sports at the For broadcast rights holder Sony Pictures Networks, PWL
beginning of the year), announced that the league would proved a long shot that hit pay dirt from the get go. As for
be a biannual event from 2016 on. ProSportify, it has a full year to cover its bases and ensure
that the second season is properly mounted.
And what of Tennis? Both of the new leagues that debuted
in 2014 – the International Premier Tennis League, All of this forms the preamble for the third edition of the
promoted by tennis doubles ace Mahesh Bhupathi and ESP Properties India-SportzPower Sports Sponsorship
The Champions Tennis League, headed by former Indian Report. The Report examines advertising investments in
great Vijay Amritraj – delivered their second editions. And Indian Sport in the calendar year 2015 from four angles –
are expected to be back for their third editions in 2016 as On Ground, Team Sponsorship& Franchise Fee, Athlete
well. Endorsement, and On Air – and reveals that overall growth
in the industry was a robust 12.3%, significantly higher
On Hockey, Indian hockey fans got some respite from the than the 9% shown in 2014 and comparing well to the
one time national game's ongoing troubles when Hockey 14.2% growth in overall ad spends the Media Sector as a
India League announced its three new franchises for HIL whole registered in the year.
season three, which was held from 22 January to 22
February 2015.

HIL first announced a new Pune based franchise owned
by Anirban Sarkar, chairman and managing director of
Deccan Water Treatment Private Limited. This was
followed up by the announcement that the troubled
Sahara India, whose chief Subroto Roy completed a year
in jail in February 2015, and which already owns the Uttar
Pradesh Wizards side in the league, was the new owner of
the Ranchi franchise. What gave the newly titled Ranchi
Rays some much needed uplift was the news that MS
Dhoni, earlier announced as a co-owner of ISL's
Chennaiyin FC team, would be a franchise co-owner.

As for the Mumbai team, Radha Kapoor's (daughter of Yes
Bank promoter Rana Kapoor) DoIT Sports Management,
which marked its foray into sports with the ownership of
the Dabang Delhi franchise of the Pro Kabaddi League,
replaced Dabur's Mohit Burman as owner of the retitled
Dabang Mumbai.

Overall Sports Sponsorship grew from `46165 million /
$709 million in 2014 to `51854 million / $ 798 million in

the year under review. With ad spending in India touching
`497580 million / $7656 million in 2015, Sports

Sponsorship therefore makes up 10.4% of the overall

advertising pie.

It also bears noting that the Sports Industry Data provided in this report DOES NOT include:
Gate Receipts | Players Fee / Salary | Prize Money | Merchandising | Subscription | Sports Goods | Operational Costs

Sports Data

S.No. Component 2014 (` Mn) 2014 ($ Mn) 2015 (` Mn) 2015 ($ Mn)
1 Ground Sponsorship 7948 122 10305 159
2 Team Sponsorship 4936 76 5582 86
3 Franchise 4823 74 4903 75
4 Endorsement 3278 50 4164 64
5 On Air 387 26900 414
Total Industry Size 25180 709 51854 798
46165

Source - ESP Properties Conversion rate $1 = `65

Sports industry grew by 12.3%
On Air contributed only 30% of the growth

VIEW FROM THE GROUND IS GOOD

If Cricket defines the money trail in Indian Sport, then in a year when the
Champions League Twenty 20 was discontinued and there was no Asia
Cup (it is a biennial event), On Ground Sponsorship growing a hefty 30%
is a big deal! From `7948 million / $122 million in 2014 to `10305 million
/ $159 million in 2015, those were big numbers.

That all of this was achieved despite the uncertainties around Indian
Sport’s safest bet – the IPL – and the fact the ICC’s blue riband event –
the World Cup – was hosted in an India unfriendly time zone of
Australia-New Zealand proves without a shadow of doubt that Sport was
on the up and up in 2015.

Proof of the pudding as it were was provided when PepsiCo announced it
was walking away from its title sponsorship of the IPL three years into its
five-year agreement with the BCCI. Many a media pundit predicted a 30%
drop in title rights value was on the cards. That never happened and
Chinese mobile handset company Vivo picked up where Pepsi left off at
the same rate for the remaining two years that was left on the contract.

Why does the deal make sense for Vivo when it never did for Pepsi? No
rocket science here. Pepsi is a heritage brand that needs no introduction.
So an annual marketing spend upwards of `1500 million / $23 million on
one sporting property just could not do it for the beverages giant.

Not so the case with the upstart Chinese mobile firm. There is no better
vehicle to deliver big bang awareness in the Indian market than the IPL.
The strategy team that worked on the IPL deal have made clear to
SportzPower that they are not looking beyond the two years this title
rights contract has to run. The thinking is that in two years, the IPL
connection will have made Vivo a household name and will have fully
justified the big spends involved.

For the record, PepsiCo took over as IPL title sponsor from DLF in 2013
after a ₹3968 million / $ 61 million bid for a five-year period ending 2017.
This was nearly double what DLF paid to become title sponsors of the
tournament from 2008 till 2012.

Returning to the Ground Sponsorship scenario big picture. As already
stated, and which bears reiterating, it was a year that saw Cricket get back
its mojo. And the Supreme Court ordered clean-up of the BCCI did not
dampen Cricket’s strike back in any real sense. While there was much
media chatter through the year about how cricket’s brand image had
suffered, particularly as far as the BCCI's cash cow IPL was concerned,
what with the controversies surrounding betting and spot-fixing
remaining a constant sore point, India’s Big Daddy sport grew 13.9% in
2015 to `5295 million / $81 million from `4647 million / $71 million in the
previous year.

The IPL franchises benefited as well, what with interestingly, it was the less glamorous CTL that showed
sponsorship revenues being up anywhere between 15 to slow but steady gains in 2015. CTL added Kotak
30% from 2014, depending on the franchise. Mahindra Bank (Powered By), Allen Solly (Associate),
Gatorade & Grey Goose (Partners). Continuing from 2014
But the key drivers for Cricket’s upside came from: were Aircel (Powered By) and Wilson (Kit Partner).

 India played 12 matches at home in 2015 vis-à-vis 8 However, even as the economics of IPTL in particular
matches in 2014 remains a fuzzy area, Bhupathi did manage to add Japan
into his country franchise owner model making it a
 One97 Communications, owners of mobile pay wallet five-team league.
Paytm, acquired Title Sponsorship rights for India's
domestic and international cricket matches at home IPTL title sponsor Coca-Cola, which took title rights for a
for a period of four years with a bid price of `2032 reported `200 million / $3.08 million in 2014, reworked its
million / $31.26 million or `24.2 million / $0.37 million agreement, becoming a 10% stakeholder in 2015.
per match in 2015 vis-à-vis Micromax, which used to
pay `20.2 million / $0.31 million per match in 2014 All of this contributed to the `470 million / $7.23 million
that came into Tennis in 2015, a 32% rise over the `356
 Ceat Tyres signed up as Strategic Time Out Partner of million / $5.48 million that was generated in 2014.
IPL in 2015 at `120 million / $1.85 million per year.
This is in addition to Pepsi (Title), Vodafone, YES Bank If Tennis had a happy tale to tell despite challenges,
& Star Sports (Associate) and McDowell's (Umpire) Kabaddi was floating, literally, on Cloud 9 in 2015. Pro
Kabaddi League (PKL) that is. World Kabaddi League
 MRF signed up as Global Partner of ICC 2015 World (WKL) went AWOL and in all likelihood will not return.
Cup at around `450 million / $6.92 million in addition PKL’s team owners like Kishore Biyani of Future Group,
to Pepsi, LG Electronics, Reliance Mobile (Global Hindi film A lister Abhishek Bachchan, steel major
Partners), Hyundai, Castrol, Moneygram & Reebok Mukund Group's Rajesh Shah, Uday Kotak of Kotak
(Official Partners) Mahindra, and UTV founder Ronnie Screwvala's Unilazer
Sports, are laughing all the way to the bank.
Coming to Football, the second season of the Indian
Super League saw higher average attendance in It bears noting that PKL pays the lowest average salaries
stadiums than 2014. Even the quality of play was better of all the franchise based leagues (they really need to look
and there was heightened buzz around the league on into this aspect now that they have hit pay dirt) currently
social media. operating in this market. And with each team only having
to shell out somewhere between `40-50 million /
In terms of spectators at match venues, the tournament $0.62-0.77 million annually, including a nominal franchise
saw 78% stadium fill compared to 72% in 2014. In total, fee, the economic dynamics at play couldn’t be better for
1,652,48 people attended the 61 matches that made up the owners.
the ISL tournament, with per game attendance an
impressive 27,090. The numbers speak for themselves. PKL revenue touched
`480 million / $7.38 million in 2015, up from `120 million
ISL had 18 sponsors at the Central level in 2015 (up from / $1.85 million in the inaugural season, a massive 300%
10 in 2014) that collectively contributed `1000 million+ / rise YOY. That too without a Title sponsor as the league’s
$15.38 million as sponsorship amount, of which title principal owner Star India refused to budge on its asking
sponsor Hero Moto Corp is paying `180 million / $2.77 price of `200 million /$3.07 million. The money came
million per year. from 9 Central Sponsors – TVS Motors, Bajaj Electricals,
VIP Frenchie, Flipkart, Dept. of Atomic Energy (Associate
The sponsor roster reads as follows: Hero (Title), Maruti, Sponsors), State Bank of India, Thums Up, Mahindra
Samsung, Flipkart (Associate), Amul, Pepsi, Volini, Jeeto, (Official Partner) and Britannia (Referee Partner).
Imperial Blue, DHL, Manyavar, Hewlett Packard, Nicotex,
Puma, Servo, Pond’s Men, Nissin (Official Partners) and The other big story point of 2015 was of course Pro
Muthoot (Referee). Wrestling League. PWL touched `100 million / $1.54
million with 4 central sponsors – Dabur Chyawanprash
On the back of ISL, ground sponsorship for Football (Title), Thums Up (Powered By), Jaquar (Associate) & Shiv
telescoped from `595 million / $9.15 million in 2014 to Naresh (Brand Partner). PWL proved a hit in 2015, so
`1140 million / $17.54 million in 2015, a jump of 91.6%. expect promoters ProSportify to really go for it in 2016.

Among other sports, Distance Running as a lifestyle PWL and Hockey India League both contributed to driving
activity continues its upward trajectory with Marathons On Ground Sponsorship from Other Sports in 2015 to a
showing a solid 53.3% year-on-year revenue increase healthy `2230 million / $34 million, up from `1780 million
from `450 million / $6.92 million to `690 million / $10.62 / $27 million in 2014.
million.
Expect 2016 to only get bigger, not just on the back of
The two franchise based leagues Tennis served up in growth from the leagues that are now up and running, but
2014 – the International Premier Tennis League, also from new kids on the block that are debuting in the
promoted by tennis doubles ace Mahesh Bhupathi and year, especially from the reappearance of the Shuttle
the Champions Tennis League, headed by former Indian Sport in the form of Premier Badminton League after a
great Vijay Amritraj – returned on schedule but two-year no show.

On Ground Sponsorship

S. No. Component 2014 (` Mn) 2014 ($ Mn) 2015 (` Mn) 2015 ($ Mn)

1 Cricket 4647 71 5295 81
2 Football 595 9 1140 18
3 Marathon 450 7 11
4 Tennis 356 5 690
5 Kabbadi 120 2 470 7
6 Other Sports 480 7
1780 27 2230 34
7948 121 10305 158

Source - ESP Properties Conversion rate $1 = `65

New entrants in Cricket Sponsorship (Paytm, MRF & Ceat) increase the spends by 14%
While Cricket continues to be the biggest chunk in Sports industry pie, Non-Cricket sports has been the growth driver
Top 3 fastest growing sports are Kabbadi, Football & Marathons in that order

Social & Search Data - Sports Weeks

IPL Social Search 4021016 16165562
ISL 1370180 863500 184351 2781593
PKL 234000 45936 589336
HIL 305112
IPTL 31350 3000 12433 2207451
PWL 11765 7050
34099 12100 38162 417661
84690 2933 16052
590

18000000 Social
16000000 Search
14000000 Twitter
12000000 Facebook
10000000
Source - GroupM
8000000
6000000
4000000
2000000

0

IPL
ISL
PKL
HIL
IPTL
PWL

IPL is the most talked about league followed by ISL

Although PWL is lowest in terms of Facebook & Twitter following, its 3rd highest in terms of engagement
(more conversation than PKL, HIL & IPTL put together)

Star power of IPTL helped garner more conversations than PKL

NON CRICKET TEAM
SPONSORSHIP PORTFOLIO
DEEPENS, WIDENS

The numbers tell a positive tale. Overall Team Sponsorship rose a healthy
13% from `4936 million / $76 million to `5582 million / $86 million, the
increases coming despite a marginal 1.9% fall in Cricket Team sponsorship.
On the Cricket front, the biggest potential downer was the scrapping of the
Champions League T20. 2015 was also a year when Team India had far
fewer bilateral international fixtures than in 2014, playing only 23 matches
compared to the 39 clashes the Boys in Blue competed for in the previous
year.

That the removal of such a big sporting property as CLT20, albeit a loss
making one, combined with the Indian team’s much lighter work load in the
year had only a minimal impact on Team Sponsorship is significant. It
indicates that not only did the IPL draw in much more money from the
market, but that Team India was pulling in a lot more per match

This explains why Cricket Team Sponsorship was down ONLY 1.9%, from
`3478 million / $54 million in 2014 to `3412 million / $52 million in 2015.

That is one takeaway. The bigger one is that when the Big Daddy Sport is
down, for the overall number to rise 13% it requires a big collective upswing
from Non Cricket Sports to drive the market, which was the case in 2015.
From `1458 million / $22 miliion in 2014 to ` 2170 million / $33 million in
2015 is a 48.8% increase. This is what drove the market forward at a time
when Cricket was not pulling its weight sufficiently.

Related to that, while Non Cricket Sports combined made up 29.5% of the
team sponsorship pie in 2014, in the year under review, the needle has swung significantly northwards to 38.9%. Within Non
Cricket Sports, like in 2014, only Football drew large enough Team Sponsorship revenues to warrant a separate examination.

If it was the Indian Super League that provided lift-off thrust for Football in 2014, when the Beautiful Game registered a 227%
increase YOY from `265 million / $4.08 million to `603 million / $9.28 million, there was no loss of momentum in 2015. Rising
further to `990 million / $15.23 million, Soccer scored a superb 67% rise in Team Sponsorship YOY.

It needs noting that while the ISL benefited with a 15% growth in Team Sponsorship, the tale was also about Indian brands
getting behind European Football, English Premier League in particular.

Notable among which were three-year deals announced a day apart in September by global IT services providers HCL
Technologies and Wipro with Manchester United and Chelsea respectively. In both cases the stated aim was to (paraphrasing
here) “reimagine the digital and technology experience for millions of Chelsea / Manchester fans not only in-stadium, game-day
experience, but also offer off-the-field experience leveraging on the (respective) English football club's rich heritage”.

There was also the renewal by Apollo Tyres of its deal with Manchester United first signed in 2013 that added to the Team
Sponsorship numbers.

Keeping Football out of the picture, Other Sports saw a 38% upside, from `855 million / $13.15 million to `1180 million / $18
million. Of all the leagues that launched in 2014 – PKL, IPTL, CTL including the Hockey India League, it was Pro Kabaddi League
that was the principal driver of increased Team Sponsorships.

Added into the mix was of course the Pro Wrestling League (PWL), which made a rather chaotic but in the end successful debut
onto the franchise league map of India. Speaking of PWL, its six franchises pumped `240 million / $3.69 million into the system,
which would make it `40 million / $0.62 million that each team is paying as franchise fees.

Going by the 2015 performance, the expectation is that ISL, PKL and PWL will be the key Team Sponsorship drivers behind big
elephant IPL in 2016 as well. There is of course the hope that some new Sport (Volleyball?) does a PWL encore next year. Let's
wait on that one.

Team Sponsorship

S. No. Component 2014 (` Mn) 2014 ($ Mn) 2015 (` Mn) 2015 ($ Mn)

1 Cricket 3478 54 3412 52
2 Football 603 9 990 15
3 Other Sports 855 18
13 1180 85
4936 76 5582

Franchise Fee

S. No. Component 2014 (` Mn) 2014 ($ Mn) 2015 (` Mn) 2015 ($ Mn)
1 Total 4823 74 4903 75
4823 74 4903 75

Source - ESP Properties Conversion rate $1 = `65

Team sponsorship pie grew by 13%

Major growth driver being non cricket sports

HCL (Manchester United) & Wipro (Chelsea) were the growth catalyst. Between the two, they contributed
approximately 50% of the non-cricket growth pie

Top 5 Category Wise Spends – Team Sponsorship

13.50% 15.20%

48.50% 42.20% 34.80% 31.50%

11% 12.90%
10.60%
IPL ISL PKL

9.70% 13.60% 9.40% 13.80%
9.50%
6.80% 6.50% 10.50%

Mobile Handset Real Estate FMCG
Telecom E - Com Real Estate
Consumer Durables Financial Service B&F
Real Estate FMCG Energy
Apparel Airline Other
Others Others

Source - GroupM Central Trading Group (CTG)

IPL Franchises - Social & Search Data

Franchise

Social Search

Mumbai Indians 225062 555000 1249300 9732309
Delhi Daredevils 84918 178800 621282 3131033
Chennai Super Kings 181511 424600 2050682 11828590

Kolkata Knight Riders 319250 550 1434333 12762442
182100
Royal Challenegers Bangalore 265170 1224589 6875169

Sunrisers Hyderabad 74609 166100 707625 3284097

Kings XI Punjab 68561 3000 765744 7477265
190350 735250 3295498
Rajasthan Royals 171098

14000000 Social
12000000 Search
10000000 Twitter
Facebook
8000000
6000000 Source - GroupM
4000000
2000000

0

Mumbai Indians
Delhi Daredevils
Chennai Super Kings
Kolkata Knight Riders
Royal Challenegers Bangalore
Sunrisers Hyderabad
Kings XI Punjab
Rajasthan Royals

Volume of IPL conversation is same as
cumulative conversations around IPL teams

KKR, RCB & MI are the 3 most talked about
teams on social media

As compared to the huge follower base, CSK
couldn’t generate much conversation online

ISL Franchises - Social & Search Data

Franchise Social Search 158071 875501
107332 302500 105188 374406
Atletico De Kolkatta 131588 370000 649431
Chennaiyin FC 35715 111000 46129 526198
Delhi Dynamos 44818 135500 50161 376062
Mumbai City FC 105498 247500 49023 885392
FC Goa 45791 60500 61062
FC Pune 763672
Kerala Blasters 41420 22000 132106 243379
North East United FC 5063 14500 49475

1000000 Social
900000 Search
800000 Twitter
700000 Facebook
600000
500000 Source - GroupM
400000
300000
200000
100000
0

Atletico De Kolkatta
Chennaiyin FC
Delhi Dynamos

Mumbai City FC
FC Goa

FC Pune
Kerala Blasters
North East United FC

ISL shows a divergence in team buzz vs league
buzz. Teams are more talked about than the
tournament

Search & Social are following the same trends

All teams have 6 digits facebook base

PKL Franchises – Social & Search Data

Franchise Social Search 18803 342299
18803 40500 20472 179818
U Mumba 20472 8000 181363
Jaipur Pink Panthers 3600 6463 256762
Dabang Delhi 6463 18000 9424 228343
Telugu Titans 9424 12000 11806 137711
Bengaluru Bulls 11806 6,500 7906
Patna Pirates 7906 183766
Puneri Paltan 5,000 6773 154793
Bengal Warriors 6773 2950 6471
10941

400000 Social
350000 Search
300000 Twitter
250000 Facebook
200000
150000 Source - GroupM
100000

50000
0

U Mumba
Jaipur Pink Panthers

Dabang Delhi
Telugu Titans
Bengaluru Bulls
Patna Pirates
Puneri Paltan
Bengal Warrior

PKL franchises cumulatively generates 500
times more buzz than the league

Like ISL, PKL Search & Social are following the
same trends

All the teams have started focusing on building
their social assets

HIL Franchises - Social & Search Data

Franchise Social Search 10446 439
5719 2,400 1356 46376
Ranchi Rays 3828 1,600 0
Kalinga Lancers 2146 350 2373 838
UP Wizards 3711 1,600 1047 90371
Delhi Waveriders 4779 1,050 1228 75540
Dabang Mumbai 2146 700 25310
Jaypee Punjab Warriors

100000 Social
90000 Search
80000 Twitter
70000 Facebook
60000
50000 Source - GroupM
40000
30000
20000
10000
0

Ranchi Rays
Kalinga Lancers

UP Wizards
Delhi Waveriders
Dabang Mumbai
Jaypee Punjab Warriors

Social & Search numbers are looking weak for
all the franchises which is affecting the league
buzz

HIL franchises failed to build the traction on
their Social assets

IPTL Franchises - Social & Search Data

Franchise Social Search 14727 118202
1987 700 2213 2241
Micromax Indian Aces 1376 0 658 8067
Japan Warriors 1151 250 8043
Philippine Mavericks 435 50 5830 22379
Oue Singapore Slammers 5389 50 22447
OBI UAE Royals

140000 Social
120000 Search
100000 Twitter
Facebook
80000
60000 Source - GroupM
40000
20000

0

Indian Aces
Japan Warriors
Philippine Mavericks
Oue Singapore Slammers
OBI UAE Royals

None of the IPTL franchises able to pick up
buzz on Search & Social

UAE royals created more social buzz than Indian
Aces. Roger Federer is the buzz driver

PWL Franchises - Social & Search Data

Franchise

Social Search

Revanta Mumbai Garuda 2438 1950 360 31655
Haryana Hammers 8050
Punjab Royals 4493 0 502 28377

850 280 3648

Dilli Veer 1051 0 113 1454
Bengaluru Yodhas 4846 0 455 1947

UP Warriors 1877 00 71

35000 Social
30000 Search
25000 Twitter
20000 Facebook
15000
10000 Source - GroupM

5000
0

Mumbai Garuda
Haryana Hammers

Punjab Royals
Dilli Veer

Bengaluru Yodhas
UP Warriors

League generated more buzz than the teams

PWL teams need to build their social assets to
generate traction on social media

SPORTS NEEDS A MOBILE
AMPLIFICATION!

From being a cricket-nation, sports will spread its wings as an industry in 2016. The Indian
sports enthusiasts is savvy on technology, and belongs to the ‘mobile most’ generation.

In conjunction to the above, mobile marketing is a very powerful tool for sports teams and Milind Pathak
organizations. It allows them to engage and interact, on a personal level, with their fans. COO, South Asia,
Mobile is a communication medium that is ideal for the sports fan demographic, which is
trendy, young, educated, and tech savvy. Madhouse

Some facts to sketch-out the Indian fans on mobile:

• 70% of fans bring their mobile devices to a stadium for check-ins, making video and
clicking photos.

• 46% of Mobile Internet Users use their mobile for search on sports, news etc.

• For Urban male 18-55, 2nd most content consumed on Mobile in Sports

• Sports is the 3rd most consumed media after Music and Movies and Lifestyle on Vuclip Platform.

SPORTS APPS USAGE - DURING CRICKET WORLD CUP 2015

MOBILE INSIGHTS AGE WISE BREAK UP ON MATCH ANALYSIS

India vs Pakistan India vs South Africa India vs UAE

(15th feb 2015) (22nd feb 2015) (28th feb 2015)

18% 15% 13% 20% 16% 40.6 18%
28.6 32.8 40.2 25.6 27.3 12% 16%

12%

23.2 21.2 25.0

<24 25-35 35+ <24 25-35 35+ <24 25-35 35+
yr olds yr olds yr olds yr olds yr olds yr olds yr olds yr olds yr olds

Reach % Time spend amongst users (mins / day)

Sports marketers are lucky in the sense that their audience is generally
engaged with the brand— users that are active, involved and happy to
participate in a brand’s promotion1.

Mobile Possibilities for Sports

Engage the audience in-stadium/premise
In-stadium is the new form of pushing SMS communication to a captive audience rendering location
based ads to drive specific marketing objectives of franchisees and brands.

An example of the same is when a football stadium in the U.K. designed a Wi-Fi system capable of
supporting game-day crowds and integrated a second-screen app into the network. The CelticLIVE app
offered users live commentary, exclusive content, and social sharing features.
Promote Native In-Game
Promote sports events, promotions, players inside popular mobile games native to the environment.
Major gaming apps have opened up their inventory native to the gaming environment, this gives brands
an opportunity to design campaigns within relevant contexts.
Gather Intent to Attend Events
What is possible on mobile is to build intent for events organized on-ground. Some examples of what a
brand could do is send sequential SMS’s, serve rich content in-banner on sports platforms and drive
traffic to the event portal. The reach that mobile gives you is beyond compare.
Advertise in Sports Apps
A comparison of the usage figures for first two weeks showed that IPL 8 was ahead of IPL 7 as far as
mobile viewership is concerned. Users are more engaged on sports apps during the weekends which
can be attributed to the double headers played on Saturday & Sunday2.

IPL8 showed that mobile is a medium that is the most convenient media for fans to consume content.
Penetration and engagement on sports apps remained steady after the start of IPL8.

Penetration and engagement on sports apps remain steday after the start of IPL8

PRE ‘IPL 8’ ‘IPL 8’

13% 13% 13%

12% 11% 11% 11% 12% 11%
11% 11%
10% 10% 11%

4%

3% 3% 20.5 18.6 18.3 20.2 22.5
0.6 4.8 11.9
13.0 16.7 13.2 13.9 14.3 16.1 12.5
12.0
5.4

5th 6th 7th 8th 9th 10th 11th 12th 13th 14th 15th 16th 17th 18th 19th 20th 22nd
April 2015

Reach % Time spend amongst users (mins / day)

Bring Innovation in the mix to augment the brand recall

Augmented Reality is the new reality. TV retargeting on mobile makes traditional TV campaigns more efficient. VR glasses are
an opportunity waiting to make brand experiences surpass recall targets and content on mobile integrated with traditional
media has the potential to make brand's campaigns go beyond.

In conclusion, as the sports industry gains its ground in India; franchises, organizers, players and teams can go efficient and
innovative in marketing and not compromise on reach through mobile marketing and advertising. It’s high time that sports
ecosystem needs to ‘Think Mobile, Plan Mobile and Do Mobile’.

MESSI SCORES BIG IN A YEAR
WHERE ESTABLISHED STARS
CALL THE SHOTS

“Plus ça change, plus c'est la même
chose.”

The Big 3 of Indian Sport in 2014 – Mahendra Singh Dhoni, Sachin
Tendulkar, Virat Kohli – remained the Big 3 of Indian Sport in 2015. On
the distaff side as well, the Big 3 Women of Indian Sport in 2014 – Saina
Nehwal, Sania Mirza, MC Mary Kom – remained the Big 3 Women of
Indian Sport in 2015.

What dwarfed everything else in 2014 was the signing of a global
sporting superstar by an Indian business house and one of the largest
corporate promoters of sports in India. Ergo 2015, what dwarfed
everything else in 2015 was the signing of a global sporting superstar by
an (even bigger) Indian business house and one of the largest corporate
promoters of sports in India.

A four-year endorsement deal inked in 2014 by Hero MotoCorp, the
world’s largest two-wheeler manufacturer with golfing superstar Tiger
Woods at a never before heard in India `500 million / $7.69 million per
annum was bested in 2015 by an even bigger auto major. In November,
after a 16-month “processing” exercise (read chasing), Tata Motors
signed Lionel Messi as their global brand ambassador onto a two-year
deal at a whopping `600 million / $9.23 million per year. The world’s
most gifted footballer thus became the first brand ambassador of the
company in its 70-year history.

All of the above contributed to expanding the endorsement pie 27%, from
`3278 million / $50 million in the previous year to `4164 million / $64
million in 2015.

Returning to the familiar, the year of the generational shift To sum up, what we see in Cricket is that Sachin and
in Cricket that supposedly kick started in 2014 post the Dhoni are holding firm, Virat is now at par with them (and
retirement of India's biggest sporting icon Sachin expected to go past both in 2016), Rohit and Raina have
Tendulkar in end-2013 and the “dimming of the lustre” made significant gains. How does all of this translate on
around Captain Cool MS Dhoni began and ended at Virat the money scales? Cricket related endorsements pulled in
Kohli. The next big thing in Indian Cricket is now `2644 million / $41 million in 2015, up from `2557 million
embedded alongside Sachin and MS as the third equal cog / $39 million the previous year to register 3.4% YOY
in the Big 3 that form Indian Sports endorsements. The big growth. Not much to write home about in absolute terms
landmark in 2015 for the aggressive Indian Test team but it needs to be borne in mind that there is serious churn
skipper was his stepping into the `1000 million / $15.38 going on in the Cricket endorsement space. Erstwhile big
million brand endorsement deal club that Dhoni and names like Yuvraj Singh, Virendra Sehwag, Gautam
Tendulkar already belong to. Gambhir, Harbhajan Singh and Zaheer Khan are either in
the twilight zone of their careers or have retired and there
As for Sachin, the God of Indian Cricket showed he was are no serious contenders rising from the ranks as
going nowhere anytime soon. The all-time great is still potential replacements.
getting endorsements, having added Aviva, Oxigen, Aster
Pharmacy & Prime Median, the luxury property developer This partially explains why there is so little upside on the
from Kochi, onto his brand portfolio in 2015. endorsements front in what has been a good year for
Cricket.
Ditto Dhoni. India’s One-day International and T20 captain
was the only Indian on the Forbes list of The World's Move off Cricket and the Big 3, like in 2014, were
Highest-Paid Athletes 2015. The Man from Ranchi was Badminton queen Saina Nehwal, Tennis ace Sania Mirza
ranked 23rd, dropping a notch from his ranking of 22 in and Boxer Mary Kom, (in that order). The only change from
2014. Dhoni's total earnings stood at $31 million, including the previous year being Saina and Mary switching places
amounts from salary / winnings at $4 million and for the first and third ranking positions.
endorsements worth $27 million.
While Sania stayed second in both 2014 and 2015 on the
In the distant next rung, meanwhile, the likes of Rohit endorsements front, in the performance stakes if 2014
Sharma and Suresh Raina have started getting more was great, 2015 was historic.
brand endorsements. Ceat Tyres was a major signing for
both in 2015.

Endorsement

S.No. Component 2014 (` Mn) 2014 ($ Mn) 2015 (` Mn) 2015 ($ Mn)

1 Cricket 2557 39 2644 41
2 International Athletes 500 8 1100 17
3 Other Sports 221 3
420 6

3278 50 4164 64

Source - ESP Properties Conversion rate $1 = `65

16%

Endorsement industry grew by 27% 53%

International athletes contributes to 25% of the endorsement ENDORSEMENT 15%
numbers in 2015

Tata Motors signed Lionel Messi as their global brand
ambassador at whopping 600 million

Virat Kohli entered 1000 million club with brands endorsements

Automobile 7%
FMCG
Cola 5%
4%

2 - Wheelers
Sports Wear
Others

After taking the Sydney International doubles title with That the sponsorships these three stars pulled in made up
American Bethanie Mattek-Sands in January, the 40% of the `420 million / $6 million that Non Cricket
Hyderabadi Hurricane teamed up with Swiss legend
Martina Hingis in March and just took off. Sania and Sports garnered as endorsements in 2015 is telling. There
Martina closed 2015 9-1 in finals, combining to win two
Grand Slam titles (Wimbledon and US), five WTA Premier is a massive market waiting to be tapped into if other stars
titles, and capping off a year for the ages with the WTA
Finals title in Singapore. are able to step up even incrementally. And this is

In the process Team SanTina not only attained the WTA happening. For it is worth noting that endorsements from
team world number 1 rankings, but both are also Other Sports grew a spectacular 90% from the `221
separately ranked world number 1 in women’s doubles.
million / $3 million recorded in 2014. The mushrooming of
Still, while Sania is on an altogether different planet when it
comes to prize money winnings compared to Saina and franchise based leagues is only going to give a further
Mary, it is the Haryanvi badminton star who aces it in the
endorsement stakes by a long mile. thrust to it.

Saina is currently earning approximately `150 million /
$2.31 million endorsing some 12 brands. Sania has a more
limited portfolio, endorsing just 6. She also made
appearances on behalf of brands in Dubai, taking home
`80 million+ / $1.23 million in earnings all told. As for
Manipur and India’s most celebrated boxer, she endorses
15 brands, earning approximately `75 million / $1.15
million from all of them.

Top 10 Athletes Social & Search Data

Franchise Social Search 9458592 24074912
800795 596,230 4980261 17078583
Virat Kohli 981014 544,420 9659086 26125168
Mahinder Singh Dhoni 510742 477,260
Sachin Tendulkar 106839 254,510 233810 6061428
Shikhar Dhawan 335262 222,080 3112476 8422685
Rohit Sharma 265812 123,560 1321044 6704380
Saina Nehwal 224609 74,000 3470773 10407387
Sania Mirza 32481 63,010 3364481
Mary Kom 29,360 15277
Sunil Chettri 784 182835 273139
Leander Paes 70524 1,000 276734 662594

30000000 Social
25000000 Search
20000000 Twitter
15000000 Facebook
10000000
Source - GroupM
5000000
0

Virat Kohli
Mahinder Singh Dhoni

Sachin Tendulkar
Shikhar Dhawan

Rohit Sharma
Saina Nehwal

Sania Mirza
Mary Kom

Sunil Chettri
Leander Paes

SRT has the maximum fan following followed by
Virat & MSD

Amongst all the sports, Cricket players are the most
conversed on social media; where MSD leading the
buzz

Sania, Saina & Mary are holding the fort in
non-cricket Sport

Nitin Kukreja, President and Head of Sports, STAR India

Let’s nurture the economic opportunity
that the various leagues have thrown up

If we look at the key Alongside, there is a nascent groundswell in terms of
ingredients that have led to participation in sports. Whether it is in the various sporting
the success and the leagues that have come – the IPL, ISL, PKL to name a few
deep-rootedness of cricket, – or to the point where now ordinary Indians are playing,
two aspects really come to the fore. One, the presence of there is a stronger movement going on here. Whether it is
world-beating heroes and two, a simultaneous the 4 million people participating in the Gujarat Khel
ground-swell of mass participation in the sport – lending Mahakumbh or the 2.5 million people who have taken up
ourselves to being called a cricketing nation. Today, we are Running/Brisk Walking as a sport or the 500+ Kabaddi
at a stage, where we are seeing the emergence of clubs in Mumbai alone or the various badminton
champions in various sports. And it is now up to all academies sprouting up across the nation, India is getting
stakeholders, as a group, to ensure that we nurture our ready to play. We just need to ensure that we give them the
champions and put in place deep rooted systems and right push.
institutions that bring more champions to the fore. And
equally important, if not more, is for us to facilitate the
mass participation in sport so that sport itself becomes
ingrained in our cultural ethos.

So now coming to the important question; how do we ensure that this movement continues,
in fact gathers further momentum?

Muhammad Ali, once said, "Champions aren't made in the Forget cricket for a moment, see the thousands of people
gyms. Champions are made from something they have that are participating in marathons, half-marathons and
deep inside them — a desire, a dream, a vision." This is other runs across the country. For once, we move past all
exactly the kind of clarity of thought that should drive us to our divisions of state, religion, caste, creed, gender and
help our nation succeed in the Sports sector. become one community, one nation! Need there be any
other bigger justification for sport! I don’t think so!
At the very first level, and this is where we have to come
together as an ecosystem, is to realize that sports are In addition to this, there are the multiple other benefits that
important! I think we have done a very poor job of sports can drive - on account of a healthier society,
articulating the multiple benefits that can accrue from tourism, hospitality and to national productivity
sports. In a young country like India where the median age in general.
is 27 years, it is extremely important to engage with the
youth in a meaningful manner. And as far as I see it there
is no better way than sport! In a country, where divisions
are much more easily created than unions, sport can play
a huge part in being that unifier. Even today, among the
most telling, the most unifying, and the most positive
thing that brings India to a halt is an India-Pakistan cricket
game! Nearly 650 million Indians saw the 2015 Cricket
World Cup – now compare this to the 550 million people
who voted in the last general elections and to the measly
130 million people who see a Bollywood blockbuster!
Quite the story isn’t it! And no different from when America
comes together and shuts down for the Super Bowl!

And of course, sporting events become a showcase of a accessible. Let’s make sure that there is no kid who
nation’s progress and pride. Look how China has cannot access a playground because it was under lock
successfully used the Olympics to showcase itself – both and key. Throw them open! And let the next generation not
in terms of achievements in sport as well as in hosting the be the lost generation. Make sports an essential part of
Beijing Olympics in 2008. Do we really need any bigger school curriculum – at par with Physics, Chemistry or
statement than what sport is able to provide? Crucially, Maths! The more people play, the more chances there are
this at a time when the world is seeking out nations that of unearthing another Saina or a Sania. The younger we
provide a beacon of hope. India can be just that nation discover them, the better it is…
and sports should be front and center of the showcasing
of India’s prowess. Just that we need to wake up to it Let’s also set very ambitious targets for ourselves – let’s
ourselves! desire to win 100 medals at the 2024 Olympics, let’s want
to be a part of the 2026 Football World Cup, let’s want to
The advent of the Indian Premier League, Pro Kabaddi win the cricket and hockey World Cups – together! Let’s
League, Indian Super League, Premier Badminton League want to produce an Indian Usain Bolt!
and the Hockey India League has further helped in
creating heroes and champions. These leagues have To sum up, let us first recognize the importance of sport
provided aspiration to millions who finally believe that for our country, second, let’s nurture the economic
they can leverage their talent and make a living off sports opportunity that the various leagues and events have
unlike the generations of the past. It was one of the major thrown up and finally, get India to play through providing
drawbacks of cricket that careers existed only for 15 access to facilities that we already have and by making
players. And this, therefore, added to the ideology that has sport a compulsory part of school curriculum – and
so propagated itself – that there was no future in sport. match all of this with an ambition.
But today, the IPL itself has created career opportunity for
more than 150 cricketers instead of just the 15. And There is no right or wrong way here, but we have examples
extend this to other sporting leagues today; we have right in front of us. There is an Australia, there is the US,
created an unprecedented economic opportunity for there is China – and then there is Cricket in India. All we
players. Today, we have young players like Pawan Negi, need to do is take the right steps and apply the right
Akashdeep Singh, and Eugeneson Lyngdoh earning learnings from across. If we can do that, I am confident
amounts that would match up or even surpass many that not only will we have an India that can create many
corporate salaries! No longer should any kid have to be more Champions – with many more World Cups and
told that the only way to earn a livelihood is to become a Olympic medals – but we will have a healthier society
doctor, or an engineer or a civil servant. Today, becoming joined as one by a passion for sports!
a sportsperson can be equally if not more financially
rewarding. What we have to ensure is that this economic
opportunity gets nurtured and expanded further. The
invisible hand of economics will start ensuring that we get
more and more players into sport.

We do believe that India is a cricketing nation. And it is
manifested when we see cricket being played all around
us. In maidans, in gullies, in grounds – and that is exactly
what needs to be replicated in other sports too. We do
have a reasonable starting point in terms of
infrastructure. We just need to make it more open and

IPL, ICC WORLD CUP, NEW LEAGUES
SPIKE ON AIR REVENUE

S. No. Component 2014 (` Mn) 2014 ($ Mn) 2015 ( ` Mn) 2015 ($ Mn)
1 Total
25180 387 26900 414
25180 387 26900 414

Source - GroupM CTG Conversion rate $1 = `65

Longer live content duration with PKL, ISL, HIL, PWL, etc.
Wider reach and consistent performance metrics of non-cricket sports could help in garnering more spends in future
Although 2015 India cricket days were lesser, ICC ODI World Cup gave a great fillip to ad revenues
Hotstar launch during ICC ODI WC 2015 helped in driving digital consumption of live sports

A Cricket World Cup year is always a safe bet in terms of This was also the year the Champions League T20 was
significantly spiking television ad revenues. Even one discontinued, which pulled another `450 million / $6.92
played out in Australia New Zealand where India unfriendly million odd out of the system.
time zones negatively impact ratings and by extension
monies. That ICC host broadcaster Star Sports was able to There were also the incremental accruals also from IPTL,
pull in `5000 million / $76.92 million as ad revenues CTL as well as season 3 of HIL and of course the sleeper
despite the challenges thrown up due to the unfavorable hit that was the “low budget” Pro Wrestling League which
match times was a big factor in 2015 seeing a 6.8% ultimately all added up to a healthy upside in television ad
increase YOY in On Air sponsorship at `26900 million / revenues.
$414 million, from `25180 million / $387 million the
previous year. On a concluding note, the massive correction that was
seen in the price paid by Star to retain its hold on English
That and of course the fact that Sony network’s cash cow Premier League rights shows that the Wild West days of
property IPL was back up where it belonged as the biggest bidding for sports properties are now well and truly a thing
draw on Indian television. Positive business sentiment, of the past.
coupled with the fact that Indian sport's biggest annual
television event had put behind it the spot fixing and When Star paid an unviable $145 million for Premiership
betting controversies. And of course that the Supreme rights for the 2013-2015 cycle of rights there was also a
Court appointed Justice RM Lodha Committee’s two-year strategic imperative at play – to deny rival Sony a bread
suspension of IPL franchises Chennai Super Kings and and butter property to leverage when it launched its
Rajasthan Royals was still a few months away. All of which dedicated sports channel SIX.
ensured that the network saw a 15-20% upside over 2014
from on air revenues to again cross the `8000 million / No such imperative was there for the 2016-17 to 2018-19
$123 million mark. cycle of rights and the price Star committed to retain them
has plummeted to a more realistic $90 million.
Which raises the question as to why then there was only a
6.8% overall increase in a year that saw the Indian Super The three principal networks in the sports broadcast arena
League rake in `1000 million / $15.38 million for Star in India – Star, Sony and Zee – all look well settled in terms
Sports with the Pro Kabaddi League pulling in another of the sports properties that they currently hold rights to.
`450 million / $6.92 million for the 21st Century Fox owned So any bid strategies going forward will have hard
network. business logic and zero talk of “loss leader”, “perception
value upside” and the like.
To begin with, there was no World Twenty20, no Asia Cup in
2015. There was also the fact that Team India played less Is this also a possible indicator of “things to come” when
matches in the year. If in 2014 India played 39 international the BCCI issues its tender for 10-year rights for the
fixtures and 6 ICC matches (World T20) in 2015 it was “Manoranjan ka Baap” of Indian sporting properties – the
down to 23 games and 6 ICC matches (World Cup). IPL – later in 2016. We believe so.

Top 10 On Air Category Wise Spends - IPL & ISL

26% E - Com Telecom Service Provider
Mobile Handset Two Wheelers
28.12% Soft Drinks Aerated Pan Masala
Chocolates Soft Drinks Non Aerated
IPL Auto Cars Biscuits
Others
2.55% 9.83%
2.70% 9.17% 15%
2.83%
3.00%
4.00%

5.45% 6.21%

29.73%

10%

Two Wheelers Mobile Handset ISL
Automobiles Loan
E - Com Liquor 4.60% 9.90%
Apparels IT
Courier Service Rubs & Balms 4.70% 5.88%
Others 5.71%
4.73% 5%
4.75%

Source - GroupM CTG

Top 10 On Air Category Wise Spends - PKL & HIL

6.22% 3.30% 0.20%
3.61% 4.60%
16.43% 0.10%
5.12%

6.30% 25.10%

6.44% 6.80%
6.66%
PKL 15.66% 7% HIL

7.48% 11.07% 23.90%
10.26%
22.70%

11.05%

E - Com Two Wheelers Lightings Two Wheelers Hair Oil Mobile Handset
Hosiery Soft Drinks Aerated Vitamins /Tonics Banking IS - General
Social Ads - Govt Biscuits Loans Durables BPO E - Com
Auto - Cars / Jeeps Others Cement
Auto - Commercial
Vehicles

Top 10 On Air Category Wise Spends - IPTL & PWL

1.40% 1.50% - 2.10%
3.10% 0.90% 29% 2.50% 2.10%
2.60%
3.40% 5.60% 22.70%
20.40%
11% 6.60%

11.60% IPTL PWL

9.30%

10.30%

13.20% 25%

16%

E - Com Auto - Cars / Jeep Soft Drinks Aerated Chyavanprash
Rubs & Balms Suitings Soft Drinks Non Aerated Health Stimulant
Financial Institue Mobile Handset Tooth Pastes Air Freshners
Soft Drinks - Aerated Soft Drinks - Non Aerated Lightings Chewing Gum
Apparels FMCG Telecom Service Software
Others

Source - GroupM CTG

LOOKING The third edition of the India Sports Sponsorship Report provides an
BACK, opportunity to assess the state of the nation as it were in its contin-
uing journey to become a Sporting Nation. Accepting that it remains
one in the making, and will remain so for the foreseeable future, is an
incontrovertible truth.

So it is a no brainer that this market remains one that offers
immense opportunities underpinned by unique challenges.

LOOKING We think therefore that a quick look back further than 2013, the first
assessment year of the India Sports Sponsorship Report, is in order.
No surprises that 2008, the year Indian Premier League launched, is
our default go to in this case.

FORWARD In these eight years, Sports Sponsorship as a whole has grown
114% (from `24232 million to `51854 million in 2015); On Ground
140% (`4260 million to `10305 million); Team Sponsorship 27%
(from `4370 million to `5582 million); Franchise 72% (`2842 million
to `4903 million); Endorsements 230% (from `1260 million to `4164
million); and finally On Air 130% (from `11500 million to `26900

million).

Summary

Year 2008 in ` 2009 in ` 2010 in ` 2011 in ` 2012 in ` 2013 in ` 2014 in ` 2015 in `

Overall Mn Mn Mn Mn Mn Mn Mn Mn
% Growth
24232 27262 40372 53137 44045 43811 46165 51854
13% 48% 32% -17% -1% 9% 12%

On Ground 4260 4200 10430 7050 7120 7568 7948 10305
% Growth -2% 150% -30% 1% 6% 5% 30%

Team 4370 4450 4560 7240 6690 4647 4936 5582
% Growth 2% 3% 60% -8% -30% 6% 13%

Franchise 2842 2842 2842 6177 4805 5274 4823 4903
0% 0% 0% 117% -22 10% -8% 2%

Athlete 1260 1270 2540 2670 2930 3822 3278 4164
% Growth 1% 100% 5% 10% 30% -14% 27%

On Air 11500 14500 20000 30000 22500 22500 25180 26900
26% 38% 50% -25% 0% 12% 7%

Source - ESP Properties

Year 2008 in $ 2009 in $ 2010 in $ 2011 in $ 2012 in $ 2013 in $ 2014 in $ 2015 in $
Mn Mn Mn Mn
`-$ Mn Mn Mn Mn
Conversion Rate 43
48 46 47 53 59 61 65

Overall 564 568 878 1131 831 743 757 798

On Ground 99 88 227 150 134 128 130 159

Team 102 93 99 154 126 79 81 86

Franchise 66 59 62 131 91 89 79 75

Athlete 29 26 55 57 55 65 54 64

On Air 267 302 435 638 425 381 413 414

What were the key markers that impacted the Indian 2011 also saw the addition of two franchises to the IPL at
Sports ecosystem in the past eight years, for better or beyond ridiculous price points. Kochi Tuskers Kerala and
worse? Sahara Pune Warriors pumped into BCCI’s coffers more
than what the other eight original IPL teams put together
A big high was the 2010 Delhi Commonwealth Games, were paying. It was their joint contribution that pushed
adverse media reporting notwithstanding. Though Franchise Fees up 117% to `6177 million that year.
remembered as much for the scams that were associated
with CWG organizing committee chief Suresh Kalmadi as Likewise, Team Sponsorship also benefitted, rising 60% to
the sporting spectacle, the mega event went off without a `7240 million. It was no surprise therefore, that Kochi
hitch and showcased India’s capabilities in mounting and Tuskers were history after one season (though the matter
delivering a multi-sport mega event on par with the best is still being fought in the courts).
the world has to offer.
Pune Warriors survived two years longer but they too were
If On Ground Sponsorships increased a massive 150% in gone by 2014, but not before paying `1700 million
2010, credit that to the much maligned Delhi Games. annually over three years as franchise fees.

2011 was when India hosted the ICC World Cup and it was Sahara’s exit from the IPL had repercussions on the team
delivered with panache. The fact that the Boys in Blue took sponsorship front as well. From July 1, 2010 to December
home the trophy and in the process gifted Sachin 31, 2013, Sahara had taken the team sponsorship for a
Tendulkar the only prize remaining to fill his glittering massive `33.4 million per match. Airtel, the other bidder,
trophy cabinet, was the icing on the cake for a Cricket had quoted `28.9 million per match.
crazed nation. Host broadcaster ESPN Star Sports went
laughing all the way to the bank driving On Air With Sahara embroiled in a stalemate with BCCI over its
Sponsorships upwards a massive 50% to `30000 million / IPL team's ownership, the embattled company walked
$462 million as a result. away from the Team India jersey sponsorship as well. In
2014 Star bagged the rights at `20 million per match.
Formula1 came to India with a bang in 2011, but the
subsequent two years saw a steady erosion in fan There was a price correction on BCCI’s Series Sponsor
interest. That was not the only reason that forced Indian front as well. Airtel, had won said rights for the period
Grand Prix promoters Jaypee Group to throw in the towel September 1, 2010 to March 31, 2013 at `33.3 million per
after the 2013 race. The economics just did not work for match. When the telecom major chose not to renew, it
the real estate giants. went to Star for `20 million.

The IPL Title Sponsorship also made headlines when The learned judges have left Twenty 20 cricket out of this
beverages giant Pepsi committed `3968 million for 5 year ambit. Why? Their thinking clearly being that T20 is the
rights. The reasons for its walking away from the deal two entertainment format of Cricket so the stakeholders can
years early have been well documented but in this case at make their monies there. But the “real” cricket (read Tests
least there was no price correction fallout. Chinese mobile and ODIs) should be left “unsullied”.
maker Vivo picked up the rights for the remaining two
years at the same price that Pepsi had been paying (`800 This has naturally set off alarm bells among the
million a year). broadcasters, with industry stalwarts arguing that the
overall fall in On Air ad revenues could be as high as 66%.
On the Endorsements front it was NOT usual suspects MS
Dhoni, Sachin Tendulkar or Virat Kohli who made news but Also, expect more IPL-templated leagues to sprout in
two global superstars. In 2014 Hero Moto Corp signed up 2016 with leagues for Table Tennis, Cue Sports and
golfing great Tiger Woods for `500 million per annum. In Volleyball definitely launching in the course of the year.
2015 Tata Motors topped that in signing with the world's
best footballer Lionel Messi for `600 million a year. About Volleyball, the internecine feuding within the
Volleyball Federation of India is playing out as the theatre
The real story of the last eight years is of course the of the absurd with the VFI president and secretary
emergence of new Leagues. Discounting the “one season throwing their respective weights behind rival leagues.
wonders”, the ones that can be classified as bonafide hits
are Pro Kabaddi League and Indian Super League. As for On the feuding front, Boxing and Basketball have both
Hockey India League, Champions Tennis League and suffered enormously due to the petty politicking by the
International Premier Tennis League, the verdict is still to federations’ “custodians” over the last two years. India is
come out on these three. seriously facing the ignominy of possibly not being
represented in Boxing at this year’s Olympic Games. For a
Coming to the year under review, 2015 began with N country where Olympic medals are hard to come by, this
Srinivasan losing his vice like grip on the levers of power in situation is criminal.
the BCCI. By the second half of the year the power shift
was complete with new board president Shashank As for Basketball, it is the internal feuding that is
Manohar instituting a complete rehaul of both the BCCI preventing IMG-Reliance, into Year 6 of a 30-year
and ICC and Anurag Thakur well ensconced as board agreement it has granting it all commercial rights to the
secretary. Thakur has bigger aspirations - to be the next Hoops Game in India, that is holding back the launch of a
board president, no less. And with his party ruling at the big ticket franchise-based league.
Centre, he could well swing it in future.
All in all, there remains much to look forward to in 2016.
Action on the cricket field is however, what ultimately gets And Sport as a participation activity and not just as
the advertising money rolling. Scandals or no scandals, spectator engagement continues to widen and deepen.
on this front the news was all good. That is the reality that underpins every new wannabe
league that is looking to make a play in this market that
The news was similar for the IPL franchises as well, with holds manifold challenges and immense opportunities.
upsides of 15-30% over the 2014 numbers.
Let The Games Go On Please!
Coming to the new leagues that launched in 2014, both
ISL and PKL did exceptionally well though it was Kabaddi
that walked away with ratings bragging rights for
non-Cricket sport.

And 2016? What is awaited of course is how the Supreme
Court hearings on the reform plan recommended by the
RM Justice Lodha Committee pan out. Of particular
interest to the broadcasters (as well as the BCCI of
course) is whether the Apex Court goes with the panel’s
recommendations on advertising insertions during Live
telecast — to restrict ad breaks to drinks, lunch and tea
intervals, in Tests and ODIs.