Kabaddi, the most popular sport in the Indian subcontinent, won a competitive title in the 1920’s. It started with a low key note and was part of many Asian games. Although the game grew in popularity in the following years, it was only during the 2006 World Cup that it was time to turn the game around.
TV actor Charu Sharma, founder of Mashal Sports, has seen the game’s potential. In partnership with broadcaster Star Sports, he organized the Pro Kabaddi League (PKL) in 2014. It was a new addition to the list of franchise-based sports teams in India. The league soon became so popular that millions of people in India began watching it.
Social media:
Cricket is the most popular sport in India and has a better international draw compared to Kabaddi. Some statistics and insights confirm why IPL enjoys more popularity than PKL. Due to the global popularity of cricket players, the IPL is able to catch eyeballs in several parts of the world. If you see the following on Twitter, IPL is profitable. Because it began six years before the PKL.
In any case, the number of PKL fans over 300k is very large. The ISL had 690k followers in 2019. Unlike football, the card is not followed lightly outside of India. The game has never been as important as the tournament to build the following fans.
Audience:
People were shocked when it was announced at the end of the first PKL season in 2014 that it had secured 435m security guards. The final match was watched by 86.4m spectators. Some months back, the IPL was considered 560m. Therefore, you can see that the difference was not so great when it was only the first season of PKL. The numbers remain solid and did not surprise us at all.
The fourth season of PKL has seen a 51% increase in viewers since the first season. There was a steady increase in prices for the second and third periods as well. The foundation made by Star Sports in 2014 showed that the adoption of the PKL would never be in jeopardy. Viewers have joined the 2018 show as the season shifts to the October-January building thanks to the Kabaddi Masters and Asia Games.
It also clashed with the Indian cricket season at home and there was a natural exhaustion among the audience. Still, the popularity has not diminished. The 2019 program saw PKL move to the Indian Super League (ISL) which looks like 1.2bn. Due to the Covid-19 epidemic, the 2020 season has been postponed, but viewers will be looking forward to the return of the league in 2021.
Trading Feature:
PKL has established itself without big names to advertise the game around unlike the IPL. The status of the players has improved over time, unlike the league that draws big names with the word go. As the league grows financially, players have begun to build world stars. They have seen an increase in the value of their product. However, it does not reach IPL players.
Star Sports and other league stakeholders need to be congratulated on their marketing efforts in ensuring fair sponsorship and investment in the league. PKL was able to produce 122 crores from land-related grants and 62 thousand from group-related grants.
The fifth season of the league saw Vivo enter as sponsors of the title. It was the biggest non-cricket contract ever seen by an Indian game. This also led to an increase in prize money to 8 calories.
Last words:
There is no doubt that PKL is likely to trade as more sponsors renew their contracts in 2021. Best Fantasy App the BalleBaazi.com,It was closely followed by the 2021 Cricket World Cup. Over the years, the PKL has managed to reach second place behind the IPL in terms of popularity and revenue. There will be significant growth and improvement in the price and quality of the league in the coming years if we go by the trends.