Tag: Supratik Sen

  • U Mumba ropes in 6 sponsors, 3 partners for Pro Kabaddi League 7

    U Mumba ropes in 6 sponsors, 3 partners for Pro Kabaddi League 7

    MUMBAI: U Mumba, the franchise owned by U Sports which is helmed by Ronnie Screwvala and Supratik Sen, got 6 sponsors and 3 partners on board for the upcoming Season 7 of the Pro Kabaddi League that starts on 20 July. While a few brands have been associated with U Mumba in prior seasons as well, a few new ones have deals across all the sport franchises under U Sports.

    The categories of sponsorship have been taken by the following: Indigo Paints as Presenting Sponsor, Haldirams as Powered by Sponsor, Mitashi as Electronics Partner, BKT Tires as Off Highway Tire Partner, Flamingo as Pain Management Partner, Je & Vee Infrastructure as Infrastructure Partner and Vihan Switches as Electric partner. In fact, Indigo paints was Presenting sponsor for U Mumba in season 6 as well. A few more sponsors are expected to come on board as the season begins.

    U Mumba also has Radio City as Radio Partner, Superfan AI as Fan Engagement Partner, Gold’s Gym as Fitness Partner, Dome@NSCI, SVP Stadium as Venue Partner and PayTM/Insider.in as Ticketing Partner for a second year running.

    Flamingo, flagship brand of Ascent Meditech Ltd. has backed U Sports not only in kabaddi, but also in volleyball (U Mumba Volley) and table tennis (U Mumba TT)

    As a brand, U Mumba looks to grow along with its partner brands. U Mumba believes in ensuring all brands get their desired visibility, engagement and more. It’s evident from the fact that some of our partners are with us in concurrent seasons.

    U Sports co-founder and MD, Supratik Sen said, "We are pleased to have all these sponsor and partner brands on board for season 7 of the Pro Kabaddi League. All our partner brands and sponsors share similar mindsets and ethos as U Sports, and we hope to have an engagement with them that is deeper than just being sponsors. As always, U Mumba has always engaged the right audiences and thus facilitates maximum traction for our sponsors! With strong brands like these backing the team, we will definitely do our best to live up to their and the fans expectations and reach for top honors.”

    Indigo Paints managing director Hemant Jalan said, "We have been a part of the U Mumba journey for a while now and the relationship has been nothing short of amazing. It is important to have similar mindset and goals. The engagement we got last season was wonderful and we’re looking to do more this season. The team over the seasons has shown tremendous progress and we could not be prouder to be associated with a team like U Mumba. Hoping for yet another successful season this time too!"

    Haldirams Food International Pvt Ltd, director, Neeraj Agrawal said, “We are extremely pleased to be a sponsor of U Mumba for the upcoming Season 7. Kabaddi is the most iconic & lovable sports after cricket in India, and in over the years PKL has grown as one of the biggest sporting properties, and we are proud to be part of it, U Mumba and our brand have perfect synergy. This is our first season with U Mumba, and we are as excited as the team is! We believe the team will deliver the best of their skills & conclude at the top order. On behalf of Haldirams family, I wish them all the very best”

    Ascent Meditech Ltd, founder and MD, Flamingo, Rajiv Mistry said, ‘’Pro Kabaddi, an action-packed platform for brands has changed the media consumption pattern among Indians drastically over the past seasons. Kabaddi players have now become household names and carry with them huge followers, who are majorly millennial. With Kabaddi or with any sporting activity, come injuries and pain. Flamingo, the official pain management partner of U Mumba would play a crucial role in comforting the pain among the players with its quality products thereby enabling them to excel in their pursuits and help emerge Kabaddi as the winner. He adds, Kabaddi acted as the perfect fit as Flamingo products are used by everyday consumers across age who strives to progress and refuse to stare at defeat due to niggles and pain.’’

    BKT Tires joint managing director Rajiv Poddar said, “Having been associated with 8 Kabaddi teams last season and receiving a fantastic response from our stakeholders, we are delighted to continue our association with Kabaddi this year as well. Being able to support some of the most competitive Kabaddi teams in the country is a matter of pride for BKT Tires. The U Mumba team has had great success over the past seasons, and we are delighted to be able to partner with the team this season.”

    Mitashi Edutainment Pvt. Ltd. founder and CMD, Rakesh Dugar said, “With longstanding associations with cricket and football, Mitashi is excited to collaborate with the U Mumba team for the 7th edition of the Pro Kabaddi League 2019. We share the team’s ethos and ideology with focus on hard work, companionship and sportsmanship. We encourage the promotion of home-grown talent and sports across India and Internationally. We are confident that our U Mumba team shall come through with flying colours and shall win the trophy in this edition of the PKL 2019."

    Vihan Electric Private Limited director Devendra Kumar Jain said, "We are very excited to be associated with U Mumba and are sure the journey is going to be a long lasting and fruitful one for both parties. As a team, U Mumba is young and motivated and that reflects on our brand energy too."

    Je & Vee Infrastructure MD Vinay Singh said, “At Je & Vee Infrastructure, as someone who believes in quality and excellence in everything we do, we see U Mumba is the one team that shares the same values. By partnering with them, we hope to connect with the common Mumbaikar and build long term relationships not only with audiences but with the team as well! We look forward to the next 3 months and more!”

  • U cypher scores 26 mn views, 2.3 mn engagegemnts & 9.2 lakh fans in season one

    U cypher scores 26 mn views, 2.3 mn engagegemnts & 9.2 lakh fans in season one

    MUMBAI: The Indian E-Sports scenario just had a boost with season one of U Cypher with MTV, India’s first Multi-Game Multi-Platform E-Sports Championship, that premiered on MTV earlier this year. Backed by Ronnie Screwvala along with Supratik Sen, the first season of India’s premier E-Sports championship saw over 2.3 million engagements and built over 9.2 lakh fans on social media over the course of the campaign, a strong force to the aim of having E-Sports recognized a mainstream discipline called E-Sport.

    Being the first E-Sports series in India, packaged for serious gamers as well as casual gamers, the course of the campaign included various marketing pieces which received tremendous response across the country. The U Cypher with MTV campaign received a total of 26.3 million video views. They also created a first of its kind E-Sports music video ‘Hum Gamer Hain’ which garnered 10 million views as well as international e-sports fame. Apart from this, they even looped in popular social media influencer, Jose, to curate a video which garnered over 133k views.

    Aside from creating a positive perception amongst the target group through television, the digital episodes have skyrocketed with the first episode garnering 119k views till date. 80% of the audiences for season one was between 10-24 age group which came from cities across India including cities like Srinagar, Guwahati and Dehradun. This goes to show how the sport has its roots across India and has got a tremendous boost, thanks to this platform.

    Commenting on the success, U Sports, Founder, Ronnie Screwvala said, “The first season of U Cypher was an absolute delight for gamers in India. The campaign, primarily digital, succeeded in building perception in the minds of the audiences that E-Sports and U Cypher are the next big phenomenon to hit India. We already received over 1600 quality player’s participation requests for the next series. We have opened doors for talented players and are only moving in a positive direction to making many, many careers.”

    U Sports, CEO & Co-Founder, Supratik Sen added, “The overall project and campaign did phenomenally well to garner such fantastic response for a first of its kind televised E-Sports experience. The strategy was a tough ask to capture not only the heavy gamer, but also the casual gamers towards the series. Our plan was strategized keeping all audiences in mind, from metro cities to tier 2 markets and the response only reinforces the fact that we are in the right direction! The next instalment in U Cypher will be announced soon, which will be bigger and will have lots more to watch out for!” 

    In its first season, U Cypher had 6 teams, with 14 members in each team. Each episode included two teams face off across titles like DOTA 2 and CS: GO on PC, Real Cricket on mobile and Tekken 7 on PS4 with a prize pool of a whooping INR 51 Lakhs. All U Cypher episodes and gameplay are digitally available on usports.in, Voot, YouTube, YouTube Gaming and Twitch.

  • U Cypher with MTV: a stunnig finale concludes with team yakshas taking the inaugural season’s title

    U Cypher with MTV: a stunnig finale concludes with team yakshas taking the inaugural season’s title

    MUMBAI: Boosting the E-Sports scene in India, the intense, gruelling 34-day U Cypher championship finally ended with team Yakshas bagging top honours. They defeated the Sherdils in a thrilling match that went into overtime, a befitting season finale. Kicked off as an intense month-long championship on India’s No. 1 youth brand, MTV, U Cypher finale was a special 90-minute episode that witnessed the two teams battle it out to a cliff-hanger finish. Team Yakshas emerged as the ‘Naye Superstars’ of virtual gaming and were crowned U Cypher with MTV Champions for the debut season.

    The finale started off with an easy win in Tekken 7 for Hans from Sherdils, who has remained undefeated throughout the tournament. The next game, CS:GO, was also won by team Sherdils to bring their score to 8 points, half-way through the match. The Yakshas upped their game soon after to pick up wins in both DOTA 2 as well as Real Cricket 17, bringing the match to a tie. The tie-breaker toss went in favour of the Sherdils who chose CS:GO as the decider game. Relentless focus and shrewd strategizing from the Yakshas saw them win the match in the third overtime 22-18, to be crowned U Cypher Season 1 Champions.

    The first season of U Cypher saw some incredibly talented players, as well as great team-work across all teams. Hans bagged the Most Valuable Player of the championship. Shubham More won 9 out of 10 games in Real Cricket 17, both teams Yakshas and Yodhas won 7 out of 10 DOTA 2 matches, while Akramaks won 8 out of 10 CS: GO matches played in the tournament.

    In the overall standings, Yakshas and Sherdils were followed by the Marksmen and Akramaks in third and fourth place respectively.

    Vivek “Acrid” Gore, the winning team Yakshas’ Captain, says “It’s a dream come true to win one of the biggest E-Sports tournaments in India. U Cypher has been a life-altering moment for all of us. The championship was very well organized and felt like an international tournament. The key moments for Yakshas were working on strategies together, practising and making new friends for life. We were focused and had only one aim right from the beginning, to become the champions for the first ever season. I look forward to being back in the next season.”

    U Sports, Founder, Ronnie Screwvala comments “I would like to congratulate Team Yakshas who constantly proved themselves to arise the reigning champions that they are today. Also, a word of appreciation for the other teams who put up an amazing fight till the very end. They may have lost the tournament but have won all our hearts with their skill, passion and determination. Our endeavour was to give talented young E-Sports athletes an audience with the country and raise awareness for E-Sports to be recognized as a sports discipline. U Cypher in its first season itself met with great interest across the country and made the world take notice. Hope the fans enjoyed the series.”

    Commenting on the conclusion of the show, Viacom18, Head – Youth, Music and English Entertainment, Ferzad Palia said, “Pulling off a totally new genre on television was a big challenge for us but the kind of response we have garnered for a first of its kind, multi-platform, multi-game E-Sports championship is beyond anything we ever imagined! Over the past one month, U Cypher with MTV has changed the E-Sports scenario in India. The overwhelming response has assured us that India is ready for such format, and we hope to continue bringing such cluster breaking content to our viewers. As we close the first season of the show, we would not only like to congratulate Team Yakshas for a fantastic win, but also the other teams who have contributed in the overall success of the season.” 

    U Sports, Co-founder and CEO, Supratik Sen says “The highly competitive nature and high-speed spectacle of the sport made U Cypher a thrilling experience for players and viewers across the world. Our aim in introducing E-sports and positioning it as a new sport has garnered worthy traction from various places worldwide. Season one set the benchmark high with team Yakshas victory. My commendations to team Yakshas and all the player in the tournament. They are all E-sports Superstars. The viewers have perceived the show well and our inbox is flooded with requests to participate in the next season. We hope the nation had a great game with U Cypher season 1. We’ll be back soon with more on the next season.”

    U Cypher as a championship has gathered momentum in India. It has laid the foundation to break the stereotype, thus changing the perception that was and that E-Sports in India is now becoming a long-term career prospect for gamers as it is internationally. The aspiration is to nurture the sport and motivate budding young gamers giving them a platform to showcase their talent and compete at the international level.

  • U Sports aims to launch Indian e-sports federation

    U Sports aims to launch Indian e-sports federation

    MUMBAI: With an aim to make India a serious player globally, U Sports founder Ronnie Screwvala and its co-founder and CEO Supratik Sen are discussing with the Ministry of State, Youth Affairs and Sports India to form the official e-sports federation of the country.

    Screwvala is likely to be the president of the association. It will be the governing body for all Indian e-sports events and interact with partner nations. The aim is to encourage, organise, educate and train e-sport athletes. He says, “We believe there is tremendous talent in India. By forming an official Federation, we want to provide e-sports athletes the ratified government support they need to compete at global or international levels and to also evolve a structured and fair e-sports competition. Now international markets like the US formally  distinguishing e-sports as an official sport and granting visas for professional e-sports players, and  universities announcing athletic scholarships to e-sports players, India is not far away from recognising this sport and its players as a career option.”

    This body will represent India and promote e-sports for 206 million gamers, 10 million serious gamers and 300 million e-sports fans across the world. The ultimate aim is to create bodies at state levels to get the ambition going at the grassroot level.

    Sen added, “This sport is a global phenomenon and India is not far behind. We have the talent, and the passion and with an official body, these athletes will only get encouraged to showcase their talent. This Federation will help widen the player base and allow people to see the bigger picture of the sport.”

    E-sports is officially announced as an exhibition sport in the 2018 Asian Games and is listed in the 2022 Asian Games in China.

    Also Read:

    U Sports launches India’s first ever Multi-Platform Multi-Game E-Sports Championship – U Cypher with MTV

    U Cypher begins new innings for e-sports in India

  • U Cypher begins new innings for e-sports in India

    U Cypher begins new innings for e-sports in India

    MUMBAI: The Indian e-sports scene is all set for a major revamp as U Sports, one of the newly formed sports business companies in India, launched U Cypher, the country’s first multi-platform, multi-game e-sports championship that started airing on MTV 19 January onwards.

    “U Cypher took around two years to plan, which includes thinking about a nice game, searching and auditioning the right team, spreading the right word and also licence tie-ups,” said U Sports CEO and co-founder Supratik Sen. The execution took another six months.

    U Sports focuses on some main sporting disciplines: kabaddi, football, e-sports and motorsports. The company also owns the UMumba team in the Pro Kabbadi League.

    “Motorsports is in the planning stage and a lot of infrastructure needs to be created on the racing track. We want to make it like a tourist destination sport, we don’t want to stick to a place and make racing tracks,” said U Sports founder Ronnie Screwvala. “The planning is in two stages, starting with global and local experts and bike riders to talking to three or four top bike companies in the world in their interest, and support from the state government for the infrastructure,” he added. 

    U Cypher’s ambition is to present a platform to talented gamers that helps them achieve their maximum potential as well as shape their career in e-sports leagues.

    “The first season is not live but recorded because we wanted the non-gamers to understand it well,” said Screwvala. “On the digital front, our deal is revenue sharing and with MTV it is content exchange and airtime sales. On the print side, we will have some ads on The Times of India and Hindustan Times.” 

    The first season of U Cypher has six teams, with 14 members in each team, competing for a total prize money of Rs 51 lakh. The combat zone orbits around four games, namely Counter Strike: GO and DOTA 2 on PC and Tekken 7 on PS4 and Real Cricket 2017 on mobile. The championship is available digitally on U sports.in, YouTube, Twitch, and Voot. Season one consists of 35 episodes.

    Sen said that the company has tracked closed to 200 tournaments pan India, in various colleges fest, cafes and small areas. U Cypher will be a bi-annual tournament with total investment of Rs 20-25 crore.

    The combined e-sports and gaming market is estimated to be Rs 3900 crore with more than 2000 teams consistently participating in tournaments across India and abroad with over 50 crore players worldwide.

    “The difference between U Sports and other sports companies in India today is that some of them are into a single sport, some are the team owners in a league and some of them own a league but we are a combination of all these elements,” Screwvala added.

    The gamers have been divided into six teams for the league—Yakshas, Yodhas, Sherdils, Crusaders, Marksmen and Akramaks. Most of the gamers for the first season are from Mumbai.

    Also Read :

    U Sports launches India’s first ever Multi-Platform Multi-Game E-Sports Championship – U Cypher with MTV

    PKL sponsors and partners cross 100-mark

  • U Sports launches India’s first ever Multi-Platform Multi-Game E-Sports Championship – U Cypher with MTV

    U Sports launches India’s first ever Multi-Platform Multi-Game E-Sports Championship – U Cypher with MTV

    MUMBAI: The Indian E-Sports scenario is all set for a major revamp as U Sports, one of India’s biggest sports business companies in association with India’s No. 1 Youth Brand, MTV, announces the premiere of their all new month-long championship, U Cypher with MTV. Premiering today, on 19th January, the show will air every day from 10pm to 11pm on MTV.

    Backed by Ronnie Screwvala (Founder, U Sports) and Supratik Sen (Co-Founder & CEO, U Sports), the Indian E-Sports scenario is all set for a major revamp with U Cypher with MTV. The league is a first of its kind, multi-platform, multi-game E-Sports championship which comprises of 35 episodes. In its first season, U Cypher with MTV will have 6 teams with 14 members in each team. Each episode will have two teams face off across titles like DOTA 2 and CS: GO on PC, Real Cricket 2017 on mobile and Tekken 7 on PS4 with a prize pool of a whooping INR 51 Lakhs. The final four will play knockouts to determine the winners.  

    Ronnie Screwvala, Founder, U Sports said, “There has been an enthusiasm for E-Sports sparkling under the surface in the country for far longer than what is known. U Cypher with MTV provides a platform for talented gamers to achieve their maximum potential and build their career in E-sports. The players have been meticulously picked from the Top E-sport Tournaments and teams from Pan India. The digital and broadband revolution has changed the game for this sport. CS and DOTA have had 20 million downloads in the past 10 years in India. And that’s a huge number for something that’s only starting to fully surface.”

    Commenting on the association with U Sports Viacom18, COO, Raj Nayak said, “E-Sports is growing fast worldwide. Not only that but the annual consumption of E-Sports content stands at almost over 3.7 billion hours across various platforms which are largely digital. Closer to home, in India the gaming market is estimated to be over USD 600 million. Given the potential one can see, we at MTV are excited to be the first and only media network in the country to showcase an E-Sports League on television! We are delighted to partner with U Sports to craft a new tomorrow today through the launch of our exciting and one of a kind new property – U Cypher – only on MTV!”

    U Sports, Co-Founder & CEO, Supratik Sen said, “We are all set to showcase the biggest E-Sports championship on television with U Cypher with MTV. This will be the rise of a new batch of athletes and U Sports will look to give the best E-Sports athletes a chance to showcase their abilities. E-Sports is growing at a rapid pace andhas been announced as a medal event in the 2022 Asian Games. E-Sports is moving from being a hobby to an actual career option and its high time we saw the potential in it.”

    Viacom18, Head – Youth, Music and English Entertainment, Ferzad Palia said, “E-Sports has found immense number of takers in India thanks to it being home to the world’s largest youth population and the world’s second largest internet user base. Keeping this in mind, it was thus a natural step for us at MTV, the brand with the ultimate word on the youth in India, to invest in a one-of-a-kind show ‘U Cypher’ that takes E-sports out of bedrooms of gamers & gaming arcades and into living rooms through television. A truly unique concept, will see gamers – who have hitherto been known only in select circles – taking on other gamers across multiplatform, multiplayer games in a specially designed arena. At MTV, we have always taken pride in being trendsetters for the youth and thus are thoroughly excited to bring a brand-new concept which will allow viewers to witness the creation of completely new kind of superstars!”

    E-Sports and the gaming market is estimated to be over USD 500-600 million with more than 2000 teams consistently participating in tournaments across India and abroad. U Cypher delves into the culture of E-Sport and finds a world of intense competition and massive opportunities.

    The episodes and gameplay will also be available digitally on Usports.in, MTV, Voot, YouTube, YouTube Gaming and Twitch. MTV has also planned an extensive digital plan to promote the show in addition to promotions across the Viacom18 network channels 

  • PKL sponsors and partners cross 100-mark

    PKL sponsors and partners cross 100-mark

    MUMBAI: Star India chairman & CEO Uday Shankar has this uncanny ability to see  opportunity where many do not. For many years, TV broadcasters had only one sport which could be monetised: cricket. Which was a major limiting factor to developing  the overall Indian sports and sports broadcasting ecosystem. Hence, he and team Star India looked around for indigenous sport that could be developed around six years ago.

    One of the properties that popped up was kabaddi, a highy underdeveloped sport, which was being pushed by a company called Mashal Sports and industrialist Anand Mahindra. Shankar saw a lot of promise in the venture and today he can be rightfully be pleased with what has been achieved.

    “When we started out, it was difficult to get corporations to own franchises,” says Shankar. “Anand used his personal charm to get folks on board. But this year, when we added four teams, a large number of top corporates and individuals were very keen. We had a problem of plenty. “

    Not just owners. Even brands have been hopping on board to back the Vivo Pro-Kabaddi League (PKL)  as it has been gaining viewership from the first season to the ongoing fifth season. 

    The need for looking at the commercial aspect of sports and supporting it for the sake of business and branding, packaging and cultivating viewership were some of the ideas which have been proven on the ground — by Star India and the Kabaddi franchises.

    In Season 1, PKL hardly had any sponsor and partner, but, with the traction it has got for the past couple of seasons, it has managed to cross 100-mark in Season 5 including individual teams sponsors and partners.

    Talking to Indiantelevision.com, Unilazer Sports CEO Supratik Sen said, “All the sponsors including jersey sponsors, on-ground, and title sponsor for UMumba has a range of Rs 8 million to Rs 20 million which is generally applicable for all the other teams.”

    Vivo PKL Season 5 has seen many late-entrant brands as sponsors and partners. Brands are aware that PKL is the only major non-cricketing event dominating in the present times.

    Corporates, of course, support events for the sake of building their brands. Given the demographics in India, advertising was done for more visibility. “For the sake of going the whole hog into sports promotion,” an analyst says, “the complete supply chain would need to be looked at – from scouting for talent to sports good manufacturing etc. to CSR.”

    Remarked Sen: “The team performance helps to get the brands on board. From Season 2, we were pretty much close to breaking even, but it was notional. But now, the reach of sports has become more important instead of breaking even (and profits),” Sen said.

    The recently added sponsors and partners for PKL as well as the teams are: Title sponsor Vivo signed a Rs 3 billion ($ 45 million) deal for five years with the league a couple of months ago.

    The associate sponsors are — Gillette, TVS Motors, Mutual Funds, Bajaj Electricals, Nissin, Royal Challenge and RR Kabel are the partners. Recently, Ultratech Cement has been roped in as an associate sponsor.

    Dabang Delhi has roped in ISME (Indian School of Management and Entrepreneurship) and ISDI (Indian school of Design and Innovation) as its jersey sponsors and the new partners are Gold gym’s, zoom car and Insidesports.

    UMumba has shifted its title sponsor from Nise Gel to Zandu Gel. The team is powered by Manforce. Bangaluru Bulls has roped in Karbonn Smartphones as the title sponsor and Kent RO and Gem Paints as the principal sponsor.

    Puneri Paltan has got Force Motors as the principal partner and Syska as the new associate partner. Jaipur Pink Panthars has pocketed Muthoot Finance and Performax Activewears as the new associate sponsors.

    Tamil Thalaivas  was the only team with no sponsor in the beginning of Season 5 but it has now attracted Muthoot Fincorp as the title sponsor, powered by Maha Cement and associate sponsors are — Agni Steels, Nippon Paint, Smartron and Admiral.

    Telugu Titans has Greenko as its title sponsor and UP Yoddhas has roped in Karbonn Smartphones as its jersey sponsors.

    The sports sponsorship market in India witnessed a healthy growth trend in the last couple of years from Rs 51.9 billion in 2015 to Rs 61-65 billion in 2016 as per KPMG FICCI Frames 2017 report.

    The fifth season is touted to become one of the biggest league tournaments as one sees traction from several brands as sponsors and partners.

    Also Read :

    PKL 5 advertisers grow three-fold, sponsorships rise 320%

    How brands are reaching out to wide PKL audience

     

    PKL: sponsors adding up even as matches start

  • MTV to broadcast UCypher eSports tournament in April

    MUMBAI: 2017 looks to be promising for the Indian eSports scenario. We recently saw one of India’s biggest names in game publishing delve into the eSports sector, as Nazara Games announced their very own eSports league. However, before that, another league of a large scale was announced by USports. Titled ‘UCypher’, the league is the brain child of businessman, Ronnie Screwvala and promises the Indian players with a formidable platform to showcase their talent.

    Now, the first set of operational details has been revealed by the company in a meet with the players where USports, CEO, Supratik Sen and Screwvala addressed the gathering.

    The tournament is set to kick off next month, which is April. As revealed earlier, the event will have two seasons per year, at least for the initial years. Around 66 gamers from around the country have been shortlisted for the tournament which will sport a prize pool of Rs 50 lakh.

    Read the full story here
     

  • 60 crore ad revenue, 36% viewership hike: Pro Kabaddi League a hat-trick of success

    60 crore ad revenue, 36% viewership hike: Pro Kabaddi League a hat-trick of success

    MUMBAI: The third season did not make fans wait for the too long a period of a year. After a gap of merely a few months Star Sports Pro Kabaddi league was back in action. The mats were the same and there was no change in the number of teams or formats. The only change was the sport had become popular and the tournament had to deal with the burden of expectation. 

    “Star India is a champion when it comes to dealing with expectations” says a franchisee owner on condition of anonymity. He further adds, “Many media people will tell you about the marketing and packaging, but the distribution push that they have given has done a world of good for the sport. Only Star Sports would have got them 40 per cent of the reach they have got. Star Gold and other channels is what has done the trick.” 

    The broadcaster has roped in six associate sponsors for season 3 in Bajaj, TVS, Flipkart, State Bank of India, Gionee and Idea, while Fair & Lovely, Nissin and Mountain Dew are associated as partners. “The ad revenue generated this time would easily count to Rs 60 crore, which is a twenty per cent growth compared to the last edition. This signifies the smart way of monetising that Star has adopted” asserts a media sports media planning expert.

    The broadcaster did not sell the title sponsor slot as that takes away majority of the inventory, and instead decided to keep it to itself. “The biggest reason why it’s successful is because the broadcaster is the primary owner and the selling is packaged. The brands get the ROI by having presence both on ground and on television, hence they show immense interest.” opines a senior media planning expert.

    The 20 per cent hike in revenue is well complemented by a 36 per cent rise in viewership.  While viewership at All India Urban level increased by 36 per cent from 54.5 TVMs in season 2 to 74 TVMs in season 3, Rural India also joined the Star Sports Pro Kabaddi fan bandwagon, delivering a staggering 135 TVMs according to the BARC CS4+ Rural for its first week in season 3. 

    On the rise of viewership Star India CEO Uday Shankar had said in a media statement, “No other sport has grown so fast and gained such wide and deep following with fans across urban and rural India, across audience segments – men, women and kids and across screens (television and digital). The sport has truly become a unifier in its appeal, second only to cricket. This brings us a great sense of pride and is a reflection of our commitment to promote a multi-sports-culture in India.”

    The moment the twice a year concept was unveiled, critics started prophesising, possibilities of fatigue were magnified, and the quality of matches was questioned. “The seasons so far have answered all those questions, I believe” says Mashal Sports director Charu Sharma. He further adds, “The debate of exploitation does not exist in the case of Kabaddi because we are not there for a good 40 weeks time. The nature of the game is such that we need to be there twice at least for our fans.”

    The organisers are also toying with the idea of roping in more teams to make it a 12 team format. The new franchises will certainly be sold at a higher price when compared to the first set of buyers. “The game is now established and evolved, but all this will at least take more than a year. The plan is to make it a longer running tournament and then we might have a once a year outing” adds Sharma.

    Defending champion, U-Mumba is again in the semis and this makes a 100 per cent success ratio for the team. For all the three, seasons U-Mamba has managed to reach the semis which twice before they have won to qualify for the finals. “They are a formidable force with quality players in the team. The way it is managed, Ronnie and his team also plays a vital role behind their progress. I am happy with the fact that Bengal has made it to the semis, Earlier, Bengal was lacking when it comes to Kabaddi and this is a success of the tournament that new teams are reaching the knockouts” explains Sharma.

    “There has been no evidence of fatigue and the wear and tear that are common in any sport and to reach the final stages takes hard work. We had a great season and now we are looking ahead towards the semis,” says UMumba CEO Supratik Sen 

    Now steps taken by the franchises will determine the next level of success for the league.

  • 60 crore ad revenue, 36% viewership hike: Pro Kabaddi League a hat-trick of success

    60 crore ad revenue, 36% viewership hike: Pro Kabaddi League a hat-trick of success

    MUMBAI: The third season did not make fans wait for the too long a period of a year. After a gap of merely a few months Star Sports Pro Kabaddi league was back in action. The mats were the same and there was no change in the number of teams or formats. The only change was the sport had become popular and the tournament had to deal with the burden of expectation. 

    “Star India is a champion when it comes to dealing with expectations” says a franchisee owner on condition of anonymity. He further adds, “Many media people will tell you about the marketing and packaging, but the distribution push that they have given has done a world of good for the sport. Only Star Sports would have got them 40 per cent of the reach they have got. Star Gold and other channels is what has done the trick.” 

    The broadcaster has roped in six associate sponsors for season 3 in Bajaj, TVS, Flipkart, State Bank of India, Gionee and Idea, while Fair & Lovely, Nissin and Mountain Dew are associated as partners. “The ad revenue generated this time would easily count to Rs 60 crore, which is a twenty per cent growth compared to the last edition. This signifies the smart way of monetising that Star has adopted” asserts a media sports media planning expert.

    The broadcaster did not sell the title sponsor slot as that takes away majority of the inventory, and instead decided to keep it to itself. “The biggest reason why it’s successful is because the broadcaster is the primary owner and the selling is packaged. The brands get the ROI by having presence both on ground and on television, hence they show immense interest.” opines a senior media planning expert.

    The 20 per cent hike in revenue is well complemented by a 36 per cent rise in viewership.  While viewership at All India Urban level increased by 36 per cent from 54.5 TVMs in season 2 to 74 TVMs in season 3, Rural India also joined the Star Sports Pro Kabaddi fan bandwagon, delivering a staggering 135 TVMs according to the BARC CS4+ Rural for its first week in season 3. 

    On the rise of viewership Star India CEO Uday Shankar had said in a media statement, “No other sport has grown so fast and gained such wide and deep following with fans across urban and rural India, across audience segments – men, women and kids and across screens (television and digital). The sport has truly become a unifier in its appeal, second only to cricket. This brings us a great sense of pride and is a reflection of our commitment to promote a multi-sports-culture in India.”

    The moment the twice a year concept was unveiled, critics started prophesising, possibilities of fatigue were magnified, and the quality of matches was questioned. “The seasons so far have answered all those questions, I believe” says Mashal Sports director Charu Sharma. He further adds, “The debate of exploitation does not exist in the case of Kabaddi because we are not there for a good 40 weeks time. The nature of the game is such that we need to be there twice at least for our fans.”

    The organisers are also toying with the idea of roping in more teams to make it a 12 team format. The new franchises will certainly be sold at a higher price when compared to the first set of buyers. “The game is now established and evolved, but all this will at least take more than a year. The plan is to make it a longer running tournament and then we might have a once a year outing” adds Sharma.

    Defending champion, U-Mumba is again in the semis and this makes a 100 per cent success ratio for the team. For all the three, seasons U-Mamba has managed to reach the semis which twice before they have won to qualify for the finals. “They are a formidable force with quality players in the team. The way it is managed, Ronnie and his team also plays a vital role behind their progress. I am happy with the fact that Bengal has made it to the semis, Earlier, Bengal was lacking when it comes to Kabaddi and this is a success of the tournament that new teams are reaching the knockouts” explains Sharma.

    “There has been no evidence of fatigue and the wear and tear that are common in any sport and to reach the final stages takes hard work. We had a great season and now we are looking ahead towards the semis,” says UMumba CEO Supratik Sen 

    Now steps taken by the franchises will determine the next level of success for the league.