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Updated November 24th, 2021 at 07:58 IST

Republic Economic Summit: As India's sports sector rebounds post COVID, Cricket still king

As India's economy continues to recover from the slowdown experienced during the pandemic, the sports industry recently seems to be rebounding at a healthy rate

Reported by: Vidit Dhawan
Republic Economic Summit
Image: Unsplash | Image:self
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As the Indian economy continues to recover from the slowdown experienced during the COVID pandemic, the sports industry recently seems to be rebounding at a healthy rate. With lockdowns having been lifted and restrictions eased in several parts of the country, live-action of some sporting events has been witnessed in the country. Most of the economic contribution came from cricket, which formed 87% of the total revenues of the sports industry according to reports.

Ahead of Republic's first-ever 'India Economic Summit' which will bring together some of the most influential names in the industry to discuss the world's fastest-growing major economy, here is an in-depth look into how the sports industry navigated through the challenges posed by COVID pandemic and how individual sports performed.

Sports industry overview

According to a report by GroupM ESP, the COVID pandemic had a devastating impact on India's sports industry as the revenues contracted by 34% last year. Most of the effect was felt in the early part of last year after the extended lockdowns brought the industry to a standstill.

As per the report, 'Impact of COVID-19 on Revenues of World Cricket and Indian Sports' by Sundar Raman, who is the former COO of the IPL, cricket contributes 85% to the Indian sports economy. Meanwhile, football and kabaddi are second. When it comes to revenues, broadcast and sponsorship contribute 65% and 30% respectively, whereas ticketing revenue only accounts for 5%.

Revenues from sponsorship, celebrity endorsement and media spending

As per the same report, India's revenues from sponsorship, celebrity endorsements and media spending on sports properties decreased from Rs 9,000 crore in the previous year to Rs 5,894 crore in 2020. When it came to the contribution of individual sports, cricket contributed 87% of the revenues, while the rest of the sports accounted for 13%.

Most of the cricket contributions came from the IPL, which is India's biggest franchise league. It is organized by the BCCI on an annual basis. Cricket contributed Rs. 5,133 crore, while the rest of the sports accounted for Rs 761 crore. This is because most of the tournaments were either postponed or cancelled last year, except for IPL in September and the ISL in November.

From the total sports industry's market size (Rs 5,894 crore), most of it can be attributed to the media. Advertisement spent on TV, digital and print media accounted for Rs 3,657 crore, which is roughly 62% of the total spending. However, with several events getting cancelled, this segment also declined by 30% in 2020.

At a time when most segments of the industry witnessed a decline, sports celebrity endorsements grew 5% to Rs 564 crore. Cricketer endorsements in 2020, for example, grew by 13% to Rs 517 crore. India's Test and ODI captain Virat Kohli received most of the endorsements as he crossed the Rs 200 crore mark. He was followed by fellow cricketers MS Dhoni and Sachin Tendulkar. Meanwhile, other famous athletes such as shuttler PV Sindhu, boxer Mary Kom, and tennis star Sania Mirza, also received several endorsements from brands.

How has the IPL model helped other sports grow viewership?

According to a report published by Kreedon, with inputs from Media Partners Asia, the IPL has contributed the most amount of revenue when it comes to Indian franchise leagues. IPL is estimated to have contributed $5.3 billion, while the rest of the Indian sports industry has contributed between $1.3 to $2.7 billion.

Because of the success of IPL since its inception in 2008, the model of the franchise league was also replicated in other sports such as kabaddi, football, and others. The Pro Kabaddi League is said to have made over 1.2 billion impressions. Meanwhile, the 2019-20 season of the ISL garnered a record viewership of 34 million.

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Published November 23rd, 2021 at 23:45 IST

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