MUMBAI: ESP Properties, the entertainment and sports arm of GroupM, and SportzPower (India’s leading provider of sports business news) Wednesday released the 2018 report on sports sponsorship in India.
Overall sports sponsorship grew by 14 per cent in 2017. Media investments contributed to the largest portion of the pie (55 per cent of overall spends), followed by ground sponsorships. Sports advertising rose to Rs 73 billion, a substantial leap from Rs 64 billion in the previous year.
2017 was a milestone year in sports sponsorship, as the US billion dollar mark was crossed for the first time. As per GroupM’s “This Year, Next Year” advertising investment forecast, Indian advertising expenditure in 2017 was Rs 612.63 billion, and this report estimates 12 per cent contribution to the overall ad spends are from sports sponsorship alone.
Sponsorship of non-cricketing sports grew in 2017. India’s second biggest sport by participation and attendance, football grew by a considerable 64 per cent. India hosted its first ever FIFA U-17 World Cup that became the most attended in the history of the event. Attendance for this Football World Cup was a record 1,347,133, surpassing China’s 1985 audience of 1,230,976.
Since last year, ISL is a 10-team, 18+ week showcase, up from 8 teams and 10 weeks in the previous season. ISL Sponsorship has grown by 22 per cent from the previous year. The gap between PKL & IPL TV ratings is narrowing – PKL delivered 1.5 TVR with 312 million reach and IPL delivered 2.7 TVR with 411 million.
Football has a tremendous reach in West Bengal, the North East, Kerala and Goa; similarly PKL delivers well in Patna, UP, Jaipur and Hyderabad among others.
2017 also saw the birth of five new franchise-based leagues – UTT, SBL, SFL, Cue Slam, and P1 Power Boating. Brands are bullish about investing in emerging sports; 25 per cent increase in franchise fees came from developments in other sports, as Cricket remained unchanged. Thirty-six new franchises were added across all new and existing leagues.
While demonetization and GST hit overall ad expenditure in 2017, the sports sector has been able to ride the storm with a steady and positive trajectory. All major sporting leagues managed to bring on board sponsors at a 100 per cent or more incremental value for the title sponsorship. Specifically, the IPL has emerged as one of the top five most valuable global sports properties in the world.
Vinit Karnik, business head, ESP Properties said: “2017 was truly the ‘big’ year for the business of sports. With Pro Kabaddi emerging as the second-most popular league in India after the Indian Premier League, and the India edition of U-17 Football World Cup creating history in terms of audience attendance, sports sponsorship has enjoyed a bull run. As popularity of sports grows in India, sports stars also expand their brand endorsement portfolios. Virat Kohli led brand endorsements with 19 brands and Rs 150+ crore (Rs 1.5 billion+) in value, while PV Sindhu leads the non-cricket endorsement space with 11 brands and Rs 30+ crore (Rs 300 million+) in value.”
Thomas Abraham, co-founder, SportzPower, said: “With the 2017 momentum, and the economy also looking up and set to grow at 7.3 per cent in 2018-19, sports is looking at an even bigger year. As the industry anticipates clarity on the structure of club Football in India, among the new leagues on the horizon, Volleyball seems the most promising.In the media firmament, while new revenue benchmarks are expected from Television, it will be traction in the Digital arena that provides real pointers to where the industry is going over the next few years.
“Based on media events across various leagues and tournaments, 2018 looks like a good year for Cricket and other sports, which will give rise to deeper engagement with brands and sporting fans in India.”
