MUMBAI: The second season of Pro Kabaddi League (PKL) is all set to go on air from 18 July and Star Network is busy amassing sponsors for the same.
While the network has roped in five associate sponsors for the India telecast, it is expecting to pocket a few more before the series goes on air.
Moreover, Star has sealed a deal with Clearwater Solicitors, which has associated as the title sponsor for the UK telecast of PKL Season 2.
As a part of its distribution strategy in the United Kingdom, Star will also air the second season of PKL on Life OK. After out-bidding competitors, Clearwater Solicitors bagged the title sponsor rights to ensure increased exposure to the UK’s South Asian community.
Speaking exclusively to Indiantelevision.com, Clearwater Solicitors co-owner Yaqub Mohammed said, “Kabaddi is a popular game for the UK South Asian Community and the partners are huge Kabaddi fans. We believe the sponsorship deal will be a fantastic way to increase our exposure to the south Asian audiences in the UK.”
The sponsorship deal is only for the 2015 edition and is exclusively for the UK broadcast. However, Mohammed states that there are high possibilities of an extension. “This deal is only for this season but we will look to continue our sponsorship in the future too. Star Network is the number one network and we can get increased exposure amongst the South Asian community via them,” he said.
Meanwhile for the India telecast, the broadcaster has already got in five associate sponsors namely cola brand Thums Up, e-commerce giant Flipkart, innerwear apparel VIP Frenzy, automobile ventures TVS Motors and Bajaj Electrical. What’s more, apart from these, a few more brands are expected to join in before the tournament kick starts.
According to a media expert, the decision to not have an external title sponsor for the India telecast is a strategic move from the broadcaster. “A title sponsor comes with a lot of other deliverables, which includes ad space too but in sport like Kabaddi there is not much room for advertisement and hence instead of getting a title sponsor and giving it a major chunk of ad space, they decided to rope in a number of associate sponsors, which is a smart move.”
As per the buzz in the market, Star India is said to be quoting Rs 10 crore for the associate sponsor tag. What’s more, as per experts, given the viewership the tourney garnered in its maiden season, Star will manage to get the desired amount for sponsorship.
As was previously reported by Indiantelevision.com, ad rates during the tournament for a 10 second slot will be in the range of Rs 80,000 to 90,000.
The first season of PKL was telecast in 39 countries and this time the network plans to extend it further. In the first edition it garnered cumulative reach of 435 million, which bagged it the second berth in terms of most viewed sporting event in India right after Indian Premier League (IPL), which managed a reach of 560 million. Both Star and Mashal Sports expect to create viewership records in the second edition of the tournament.
It now remains to be seen the number of brands Star India manages to rope in for PKL Season 2 before the games commence.
