Hemant R. Joshi's Blog, page 9
January 4, 2020
Kabaddi, a sport that originated in India and popularized in leagues since the 1920s, was never the topmost sport in the country. Until the late 1980s it was Hockey, after which India started obsessing over cricket. As cricket grew in popularity, it created so many careers. Not just for the players, but the managers, organizers, coaches, etc. If you visit any city in India, you can view how popular cricket is by looking at streets or fields. You would find several interpretations of cricket, with rules being tweaked to suit the conditions and space.
But, Kabaddi did not die. India has been a consistent performer in Kabaddi at the world stage. It has won all 3 world cups that have happened so far. The sport doesn’t qualify in Olympics yet, because of the limited number of countries playing, but the growth trajectory of Kabaddi could lead to a World Cup berth in a few years’ time.
Pro Kabaddi League
In 2014, Mashal Sports and Star Sports launched the Pro Kabaddi League with 8 teams from across India. This league is modeled after the success of a similar Cricket league, the Indian Premier League.
Over the years, the PKL has become the second most-watched leagues in India. In fact, in 2018, the PKL managed to attract a higher India viewership than the soccer world cup, one of the most-watched sporting events in the world. In December 2018, the league was rated higher than the Indian cricket team’s Test match win against Australia in 2018.
The trend of growth is echoed in Google Trends as well. This is a chart showing the percentage of people searching for Football, Hockey and Kabaddi in India.
Look at the interest in Kabaddi during the June to September period, right when the Pro Kabaddi League happens. Kabaddi is giving serious competition to Football, the second most searched sports in India after Cricket.
According to Nielsen Sports, interest in Kabaddi itself has grown by 14% year-over-year since 2015. At the same time, player salaries have also grown by quite a lot. The maximum salary in Season 1 was ₹12 lakh. In Season 6, one player went for ₹1.5 crores, the highest-paid professional athlete in the country outside cricket. Star India likely earned Rs 200 to 230 crore from PKL in 2019, a significant jump from 2018 when their revenue was likely Rs 150 crore.
A lot of this comes at the backdrop of smart production and packaging of the sport. Kabaddi is a short-format sport packed with action, with something or the other happening every minute to keep the audience engaged. Each side gets a chance every 30 seconds. At the same time, there is a lot of strategy involved, which keeps people guessing about the outcome.
Why is this important?
Looking at the numbers, we can expect Kabaddi to keep growing over the next decade. Revenues from Kabaddi would grow while creating many more jobs, not only for players and their staff, but in marketing, advertising, and whatnot. The growth in viewership will inspire younger generations to take up the sport.
That said, why should PKL be the only league that earns all the revenues?
In Cricket, apart from IPL, there are several local leagues, which are broadcasted live on YouTube. Tennis Cricket, a channel that exclusively streams local leagues in Maharashtra, has 637k subscribers. With the growth of a bigger league, several smaller leagues popup.
We can expect something similar in Kabaddi.
I am sure that there are smaller Kabaddi leagues happening across India at the junior level. With investment in production and marketing, businesses can be built on streaming these leagues. Revenue can come in from sponsors as viewership increases.
With YouTube, distribution is practically free. You don’t have to pay to upload videos. The easiest way to start a business today is to take your phone, shoot videos and upload them to YouTube.
In fact, why should such a model be restricted to Kabaddi only? Think about Football, Hockey, Basketball, etc. There is a huge revenue potential to be earned by streaming sports at a local level. For example, district-level school tournaments are great for viewership by school students. If students view their peers on screens, they are likely to engage in the sport more often, even getting encouraged to play sports more often.
For India to be a sporting nation, sports have to reach the nooks and corners of the country. So far, only cricket has been able to do that. Would Kabaddi be the next?
I hope it is.
Subscribe to my free newsletter to get posts like this every week.
Subscribe now
Kabaddi, a sport that originated in India and popularized in leagues since the 1920s, was never the topmost sport in the country. Until the late 1980s it was Hockey, after which India started obsessing over cricket. As cricket grew in popularity, it created so many careers. Not just for the players, but the managers, organizers, coaches, etc. If you visit any city in India, you can view how popular cricket is by looking at streets or fields. You would find several interpretations of cricket, with rules being tweaked to suit the conditions and space.
But, Kabaddi did not die. India has been a consistent performer in Kabaddi at the world stage. It has won all 3 world cups that have happened so far. The sport doesn’t qualify in Olympics yet, because of the limited number of countries playing, but the growth trajectory of Kabaddi could lead to a World Cup berth in a few years’ time.
Pro Kabaddi League
In 2014, Mashal Sports and Star Sports launched the Pro Kabaddi League with 8 teams from across India. This league is modeled after the success of a similar Cricket league, the Indian Premier League.
Over the years, the PKL has become the second most-watched leagues in India. In fact, in 2018, the PKL managed to attract a higher India viewership than the soccer world cup, one of the most-watched sporting events in the world. In December 2018, the league was rated higher than the Indian cricket team’s Test match win against Australia in 2018.
The trend of growth is echoed in Google Trends as well. This is a chart showing the percentage of people searching for Football, Hockey and Kabaddi in India.
Look at the interest in Kabaddi during the June to September period, right when the Pro Kabaddi League happens. Kabaddi is giving serious competition to Football, the second most searched sports in India after Cricket.
According to Nielsen Sports, interest in Kabaddi itself has grown by 14% year-over-year since 2015. At the same time, player salaries have also grown by quite a lot. The maximum salary in Season 1 was ₹12 lakh. In Season 6, one player went for ₹1.5 crores, the highest-paid professional athlete in the country outside cricket. Star India likely earned Rs 200 to 230 crore from PKL in 2019, a significant jump from 2018 when their revenue was likely Rs 150 crore.
A lot of this comes at the backdrop of smart production and packaging of the sport. Kabaddi is a short-format sport packed with action, with something or the other happening every minute to keep the audience engaged. Each side gets a chance every 30 seconds. At the same time, there is a lot of strategy involved, which keeps people guessing about the outcome.
Why is this important?
Looking at the numbers, we can expect Kabaddi to keep growing over the next decade. Revenues from Kabaddi would grow while creating many more jobs, not only for players and their staff, but in marketing, advertising, and whatnot. The growth in viewership will inspire younger generations to take up the sport.
That said, why should PKL be the only league that earns all the revenues?
In Cricket, apart from IPL, there are several local leagues, which are broadcasted live on YouTube. Tennis Cricket, a channel that exclusively streams local leagues in Maharashtra, has 637k subscribers. With the growth of a bigger league, several smaller leagues popup.
We can expect something similar in Kabaddi.
I am sure that there are smaller Kabaddi leagues happening across India at the junior level. With investment in production and marketing, businesses can be built on streaming these leagues. Revenue can come in from sponsors as viewership increases.
With YouTube, distribution is practically free. You don’t have to pay to upload videos. The easiest way to start a business today is to take your phone, shoot videos and upload them to YouTube.
In fact, why should such a model be restricted to Kabaddi only? Think about Football, Hockey, Basketball, etc. There is a huge revenue potential to be earned by streaming sports at a local level. For example, district-level school tournaments are great for viewership by school students. If students view their peers on screens, they are likely to engage in the sport more often, even getting encouraged to play sports more often.
For India to be a sporting nation, sports have to reach the nooks and corners of the country. So far, only cricket has been able to do that. Would Kabaddi be the next?
I hope it is.
Subscribe to my free newsletter to get posts like this every week.
Subscribe now
Kabaddi, a sport that originated in India and popularized in leagues since the 1920s, was never the topmost sport in the country. Until the late 1980s it was Hockey, after which India started obsessing over cricket. As cricket grew in popularity, it created so many careers. Not just for the players, but the managers, organizers, coaches, etc. If you visit any city in India, you can view how popular cricket is by looking at streets or fields. You would find several interpretations of cricket, with rules being tweaked to suit the conditions and space.
But, Kabaddi did not die. India has been a consistent performer in Kabaddi at the world stage. It has won all 3 world cups that have happened so far. The sport doesn’t qualify in Olympics yet, because of the limited number of countries playing, but the growth trajectory of Kabaddi could lead to a World Cup berth in a few years’ time.
Pro Kabaddi League
In 2014, Mashal Sports and Star Sports launched the Pro Kabaddi League with 8 teams from across India. This league is modeled after the success of a similar Cricket league, the Indian Premier League.
Over the years, the PKL has become the second most-watched leagues in India. In fact, in 2018, the PKL managed to attract a higher India viewership than the soccer world cup, one of the most-watched sporting events in the world. In December 2018, the league was rated higher than the Indian cricket team’s Test match win against Australia in 2018.
The trend of growth is echoed in Google Trends as well. This is a chart showing the percentage of people searching for Football, Hockey and Kabaddi in India.
Look at the interest in Kabaddi during the June to September period, right when the Pro Kabaddi League happens. Kabaddi is giving serious competition to Football, the second most searched sports in India after Cricket.
According to Nielsen Sports, interest in Kabaddi itself has grown by 14% year-over-year since 2015. At the same time, player salaries have also grown by quite a lot. The maximum salary in Season 1 was ₹12 lakh. In Season 6, one player went for ₹1.5 crores, the highest-paid professional athlete in the country outside cricket. Star India likely earned Rs 200 to 230 crore from PKL in 2019, a significant jump from 2018 when their revenue was likely Rs 150 crore.
A lot of this comes at the backdrop of smart production and packaging of the sport. Kabaddi is a short-format sport packed with action, with something or the other happening every minute to keep the audience engaged. Each side gets a chance every 30 seconds. At the same time, there is a lot of strategy involved, which keeps people guessing about the outcome.
Why is this important?
Looking at the numbers, we can expect Kabaddi to keep growing over the next decade. Revenues from Kabaddi would grow while creating many more jobs, not only for players and their staff, but in marketing, advertising, and whatnot. The growth in viewership will inspire younger generations to take up the sport.
That said, why should PKL be the only league that earns all the revenues?
In Cricket, apart from IPL, there are several local leagues, which are broadcasted live on YouTube. Tennis Cricket, a channel that exclusively streams local leagues in Maharashtra, has 637k subscribers. With the growth of a bigger league, several smaller leagues popup.
We can expect something similar in Kabaddi.
I am sure that there are smaller Kabaddi leagues happening across India at the junior level. With investment in production and marketing, businesses can be built on streaming these leagues. Revenue can come in from sponsors as viewership increases.
With YouTube, distribution is practically free. You don’t have to pay to upload videos. The easiest way to start a business today is to take your phone, shoot videos and upload them to YouTube.
In fact, why should such a model be restricted to Kabaddi only? Think about Football, Hockey, Basketball, etc. There is a huge revenue potential to be earned by streaming sports at a local level. For example, district-level school tournaments are great for viewership by school students. If students view their peers on screens, they are likely to engage in the sport more often, even getting encouraged to play sports more often.
For India to be a sporting nation, sports have to reach the nooks and corners of the country. So far, only cricket has been able to do that. Would Kabaddi be the next?
I hope it is.
Subscribe to my free newsletter to get posts like this every week.
Subscribe now
Kabaddi, a sport that originated in India and popularized in leagues since the 1920s, was never the topmost sport in the country. Until the late 1980s it was Hockey, after which India started obsessing over cricket. As cricket grew in popularity, it created so many careers. Not just for the players, but the managers, organizers, coaches, etc. If you visit any city in India, you can view how popular cricket is by looking at streets or fields. You would find several interpretations of cricket, with rules being tweaked to suit the conditions and space.
But, Kabaddi did not die. India has been a consistent performer in Kabaddi at the world stage. It has won all 3 world cups that have happened so far. The sport doesn’t qualify in Olympics yet, because of the limited number of countries playing, but the growth trajectory of Kabaddi could lead to a World Cup berth in a few years’ time.
Pro Kabaddi League
In 2014, Mashal Sports and Star Sports launched the Pro Kabaddi League with 8 teams from across India. This league is modeled after the success of a similar Cricket league, the Indian Premier League.
Over the years, the PKL has become the second most-watched leagues in India. In fact, in 2018, the PKL managed to attract a higher India viewership than the soccer world cup, one of the most-watched sporting events in the world. In December 2018, the league was rated higher than the Indian cricket team’s Test match win against Australia in 2018.
The trend of growth is echoed in Google Trends as well. This is a chart showing the percentage of people searching for Football, Hockey and Kabaddi in India.
Look at the interest in Kabaddi during the June to September period, right when the Pro Kabaddi League happens. Kabaddi is giving serious competition to Football, the second most searched sports in India after Cricket.
According to Nielsen Sports, interest in Kabaddi itself has grown by 14% year-over-year since 2015. At the same time, player salaries have also grown by quite a lot. The maximum salary in Season 1 was ₹12 lakh. In Season 6, one player went for ₹1.5 crores, the highest-paid professional athlete in the country outside cricket. Star India likely earned Rs 200 to 230 crore from PKL in 2019, a significant jump from 2018 when their revenue was likely Rs 150 crore.
A lot of this comes at the backdrop of smart production and packaging of the sport. Kabaddi is a short-format sport packed with action, with something or the other happening every minute to keep the audience engaged. Each side gets a chance every 30 seconds. At the same time, there is a lot of strategy involved, which keeps people guessing about the outcome.
Why is this important?
Looking at the numbers, we can expect Kabaddi to keep growing over the next decade. Revenues from Kabaddi would grow while creating many more jobs, not only for players and their staff, but in marketing, advertising, and whatnot. The growth in viewership will inspire younger generations to take up the sport.
That said, why should PKL be the only league that earns all the revenues?
In Cricket, apart from IPL, there are several local leagues, which are broadcasted live on YouTube. Tennis Cricket, a channel that exclusively streams local leagues in Maharashtra, has 637k subscribers. With the growth of a bigger league, several smaller leagues popup.
We can expect something similar in Kabaddi.
I am sure that there are smaller Kabaddi leagues happening across India at the junior level. With investment in production and marketing, businesses can be built on streaming these leagues. Revenue can come in from sponsors as viewership increases.
With YouTube, distribution is practically free. You don’t have to pay to upload videos. The easiest way to start a business today is to take your phone, shoot videos and upload them to YouTube.
In fact, why should such a model be restricted to Kabaddi only? Think about Football, Hockey, Basketball, etc. There is a huge revenue potential to be earned by streaming sports at a local level. For example, district-level school tournaments are great for viewership by school students. If students view their peers on screens, they are likely to engage in the sport more often, even getting encouraged to play sports more often.
For India to be a sporting nation, sports have to reach the nooks and corners of the country. So far, only cricket has been able to do that. Would Kabaddi be the next?
I hope it is.
Subscribe to my free newsletter to get posts like this every week.
Subscribe now
Kabaddi, a sport that originated in India and popularized in leagues since the 1920s, was never the topmost sport in the country. Until the late 1980s it was Hockey, after which India started obsessing over cricket. As cricket grew in popularity, it created so many careers. Not just for the players, but the managers, organizers, coaches, etc. If you visit any city in India, you can view how popular cricket is by looking at streets or fields. You would find several interpretations of cricket, with rules being tweaked to suit the conditions and space.
But, Kabaddi did not die. India has been a consistent performer in Kabaddi at the world stage. It has won all 3 world cups that have happened so far. The sport doesn’t qualify in Olympics yet, because of the limited number of countries playing, but the growth trajectory of Kabaddi could lead to a World Cup berth in a few years’ time.
Pro Kabaddi League
In 2014, Mashal Sports and Star Sports launched the Pro Kabaddi League with 8 teams from across India. This league is modeled after the success of a similar Cricket league, the Indian Premier League.
Over the years, the PKL has become the second most-watched leagues in India. In fact, in 2018, the PKL managed to attract a higher India viewership than the soccer world cup, one of the most-watched sporting events in the world. In December 2018, the league was rated higher than the Indian cricket team’s Test match win against Australia in 2018.
The trend of growth is echoed in Google Trends as well. This is a chart showing the percentage of people searching for Football, Hockey and Kabaddi in India.
Look at the interest in Kabaddi during the June to September period, right when the Pro Kabaddi League happens. Kabaddi is giving serious competition to Football, the second most searched sports in India after Cricket.
According to Nielsen Sports, interest in Kabaddi itself has grown by 14% year-over-year since 2015. At the same time, player salaries have also grown by quite a lot. The maximum salary in Season 1 was ₹12 lakh. In Season 6, one player went for ₹1.5 crores, the highest-paid professional athlete in the country outside cricket. Star India likely earned Rs 200 to 230 crore from PKL in 2019, a significant jump from 2018 when their revenue was likely Rs 150 crore.
A lot of this comes at the backdrop of smart production and packaging of the sport. Kabaddi is a short-format sport packed with action, with something or the other happening every minute to keep the audience engaged. Each side gets a chance every 30 seconds. At the same time, there is a lot of strategy involved, which keeps people guessing about the outcome.
Why is this important?
Looking at the numbers, we can expect Kabaddi to keep growing over the next decade. Revenues from Kabaddi would grow while creating many more jobs, not only for players and their staff, but in marketing, advertising, and whatnot. The growth in viewership will inspire younger generations to take up the sport.
That said, why should PKL be the only league that earns all the revenues?
In Cricket, apart from IPL, there are several local leagues, which are broadcasted live on YouTube. Tennis Cricket, a channel that exclusively streams local leagues in Maharashtra, has 637k subscribers. With the growth of a bigger league, several smaller leagues popup.
We can expect something similar in Kabaddi.
I am sure that there are smaller Kabaddi leagues happening across India at the junior level. With investment in production and marketing, businesses can be built on streaming these leagues. Revenue can come in from sponsors as viewership increases.
With YouTube, distribution is practically free. You don’t have to pay to upload videos. The easiest way to start a business today is to take your phone, shoot videos and upload them to YouTube.
In fact, why should such a model be restricted to Kabaddi only? Think about Football, Hockey, Basketball, etc. There is a huge revenue potential to be earned by streaming sports at a local level. For example, district-level school tournaments are great for viewership by school students. If students view their peers on screens, they are likely to engage in the sport more often, even getting encouraged to play sports more often.
For India to be a sporting nation, sports have to reach the nooks and corners of the country. So far, only cricket has been able to do that. Would Kabaddi be the next?
I hope it is.
Subscribe to my free newsletter to get posts like this every week.
Subscribe now
Kabaddi, a sport that originated in India and popularized in leagues since the 1920s, was never the topmost sport in the country. Until the late 1980s it was Hockey, after which India started obsessing over cricket. As cricket grew in popularity, it created so many careers. Not just for the players, but the managers, organizers, coaches, etc. If you visit any city in India, you can view how popular cricket is by looking at streets or fields. You would find several interpretations of cricket, with rules being tweaked to suit the conditions and space.
But, Kabaddi did not die. India has been a consistent performer in Kabaddi at the world stage. It has won all 3 world cups that have happened so far. The sport doesn’t qualify in Olympics yet, because of the limited number of countries playing, but the growth trajectory of Kabaddi could lead to a World Cup berth in a few years’ time.
Pro Kabaddi League
In 2014, Mashal Sports and Star Sports launched the Pro Kabaddi League with 8 teams from across India. This league is modeled after the success of a similar Cricket league, the Indian Premier League.
Over the years, the PKL has become the second most-watched leagues in India. In fact, in 2018, the PKL managed to attract a higher India viewership than the soccer world cup, one of the most-watched sporting events in the world. In December 2018, the league was rated higher than the Indian cricket team’s Test match win against Australia in 2018.
The trend of growth is echoed in Google Trends as well. This is a chart showing the percentage of people searching for Football, Hockey and Kabaddi in India.
Look at the interest in Kabaddi during the June to September period, right when the Pro Kabaddi League happens. Kabaddi is giving serious competition to Football, the second most searched sports in India after Cricket.
According to Nielsen Sports, interest in Kabaddi itself has grown by 14% year-over-year since 2015. At the same time, player salaries have also grown by quite a lot. The maximum salary in Season 1 was ₹12 lakh. In Season 6, one player went for ₹1.5 crores, the highest-paid professional athlete in the country outside cricket. Star India likely earned Rs 200 to 230 crore from PKL in 2019, a significant jump from 2018 when their revenue was likely Rs 150 crore.
A lot of this comes at the backdrop of smart production and packaging of the sport. Kabaddi is a short-format sport packed with action, with something or the other happening every minute to keep the audience engaged. Each side gets a chance every 30 seconds. At the same time, there is a lot of strategy involved, which keeps people guessing about the outcome.
Why is this important?
Looking at the numbers, we can expect Kabaddi to keep growing over the next decade. Revenues from Kabaddi would grow while creating many more jobs, not only for players and their staff, but in marketing, advertising, and whatnot. The growth in viewership will inspire younger generations to take up the sport.
That said, why should PKL be the only league that earns all the revenues?
In Cricket, apart from IPL, there are several local leagues, which are broadcasted live on YouTube. Tennis Cricket, a channel that exclusively streams local leagues in Maharashtra, has 637k subscribers. With the growth of a bigger league, several smaller leagues popup.
We can expect something similar in Kabaddi.
I am sure that there are smaller Kabaddi leagues happening across India at the junior level. With investment in production and marketing, businesses can be built on streaming these leagues. Revenue can come in from sponsors as viewership increases.
With YouTube, distribution is practically free. You don’t have to pay to upload videos. The easiest way to start a business today is to take your phone, shoot videos and upload them to YouTube.
In fact, why should such a model be restricted to Kabaddi only? Think about Football, Hockey, Basketball, etc. There is a huge revenue potential to be earned by streaming sports at a local level. For example, district-level school tournaments are great for viewership by school students. If students view their peers on screens, they are likely to engage in the sport more often, even getting encouraged to play sports more often.
For India to be a sporting nation, sports have to reach the nooks and corners of the country. So far, only cricket has been able to do that. Would Kabaddi be the next?
I hope it is.
Subscribe to my free newsletter to get posts like this every week.
Subscribe now
Kabaddi, a sport that originated in India and popularized in leagues since the 1920s, was never the topmost sport in the country. Until the late 1980s it was Hockey, after which India started obsessing over cricket. As cricket grew in popularity, it created so many careers. Not just for the players, but the managers, organizers, coaches, etc. If you visit any city in India, you can view how popular cricket is by looking at streets or fields. You would find several interpretations of cricket, with rules being tweaked to suit the conditions and space.
But, Kabaddi did not die. India has been a consistent performer in Kabaddi at the world stage. It has won all 3 world cups that have happened so far. The sport doesn’t qualify in Olympics yet, because of the limited number of countries playing, but the growth trajectory of Kabaddi could lead to a World Cup berth in a few years’ time.
Pro Kabaddi League
In 2014, Mashal Sports and Star Sports launched the Pro Kabaddi League with 8 teams from across India. This league is modeled after the success of a similar Cricket league, the Indian Premier League.
Over the years, the PKL has become the second most-watched leagues in India. In fact, in 2018, the PKL managed to attract a higher India viewership than the soccer world cup, one of the most-watched sporting events in the world. In December 2018, the league was rated higher than the Indian cricket team’s Test match win against Australia in 2018.
The trend of growth is echoed in Google Trends as well. This is a chart showing the percentage of people searching for Football, Hockey and Kabaddi in India.
Look at the interest in Kabaddi during the June to September period, right when the Pro Kabaddi League happens. Kabaddi is giving serious competition to Football, the second most searched sports in India after Cricket.
According to Nielsen Sports, interest in Kabaddi itself has grown by 14% year-over-year since 2015. At the same time, player salaries have also grown by quite a lot. The maximum salary in Season 1 was ₹12 lakh. In Season 6, one player went for ₹1.5 crores, the highest-paid professional athlete in the country outside cricket. Star India likely earned Rs 200 to 230 crore from PKL in 2019, a significant jump from 2018 when their revenue was likely Rs 150 crore.
A lot of this comes at the backdrop of smart production and packaging of the sport. Kabaddi is a short-format sport packed with action, with something or the other happening every minute to keep the audience engaged. Each side gets a chance every 30 seconds. At the same time, there is a lot of strategy involved, which keeps people guessing about the outcome.
Why is this important?
Looking at the numbers, we can expect Kabaddi to keep growing over the next decade. Revenues from Kabaddi would grow while creating many more jobs, not only for players and their staff, but in marketing, advertising, and whatnot. The growth in viewership will inspire younger generations to take up the sport.
That said, why should PKL be the only league that earns all the revenues?
In Cricket, apart from IPL, there are several local leagues, which are broadcasted live on YouTube. Tennis Cricket, a channel that exclusively streams local leagues in Maharashtra, has 637k subscribers. With the growth of a bigger league, several smaller leagues popup.
We can expect something similar in Kabaddi.
I am sure that there are smaller Kabaddi leagues happening across India at the junior level. With investment in production and marketing, businesses can be built on streaming these leagues. Revenue can come in from sponsors as viewership increases.
With YouTube, distribution is practically free. You don’t have to pay to upload videos. The easiest way to start a business today is to take your phone, shoot videos and upload them to YouTube.
In fact, why should such a model be restricted to Kabaddi only? Think about Football, Hockey, Basketball, etc. There is a huge revenue potential to be earned by streaming sports at a local level. For example, district-level school tournaments are great for viewership by school students. If students view their peers on screens, they are likely to engage in the sport more often, even getting encouraged to play sports more often.
For India to be a sporting nation, sports have to reach the nooks and corners of the country. So far, only cricket has been able to do that. Would Kabaddi be the next?
I hope it is.
Subscribe to my free newsletter to get posts like these every week.
Subscribe now
Kabaddi, a sport that originated in India and popularized in leagues since the 1920s, was never the topmost sport in the country. Until the late 1980s it was Hockey, after which India started obsessing over cricket. As cricket grew in popularity, it created so many careers. Not just for the players, but the managers, organizers, coaches, etc. If you visit any city in India, you can view how popular cricket is by looking at streets or fields. You would find several interpretations of cricket, with rules being tweaked to suit the conditions and space.
But, Kabaddi did not die. India has been a consistent performer in Kabaddi at the world stage. It has won all 3 world cups that have happened so far. The sport doesn’t qualify in Olympics yet, because of the limited number of countries playing, but the growth trajectory of Kabaddi could lead to a World Cup berth in a few years’ time.
Pro Kabaddi League
In 2014, Mashal Sports and Star Sports launched the Pro Kabaddi League with 8 teams from across India. This league is modeled after the success of a similar Cricket league, the Indian Premier League.
Over the years, the PKL has become the second most-watched leagues in India. In fact, in 2018, the PKL managed to attract a higher India viewership than the soccer world cup, one of the most-watched sporting events in the world. In December 2018, the league was rated higher than the Indian cricket team’s Test match win against Australia in 2018.
The trend of growth is echoed in Google Trends as well. This is a chart showing the percentage of people searching for Football, Hockey and Kabaddi in India.
Look at the interest in Kabaddi during the June to September period, right when the Pro Kabaddi League happens. Kabaddi is giving serious competition to Football, the second most searched sports in India after Cricket.
According to Nielsen Sports, interest in Kabaddi itself has grown by 14% year-over-year since 2015. At the same time, player salaries have also grown by quite a lot. The maximum salary in Season 1 was ₹12 lakh. In Season 6, one player went for ₹1.5 crores, the highest-paid professional athlete in the country outside cricket. Star India likely earned Rs 200 to 230 crore from PKL in 2019, a significant jump from 2018 when their revenue was likely Rs 150 crore.
A lot of this comes at the backdrop of smart production and packaging of the sport. Kabaddi is a short-format sport packed with action, with something or the other happening every minute to keep the audience engaged. Each side gets a chance every 30 seconds. At the same time, there is a lot of strategy involved, which keeps people guessing about the outcome.
Why is this important?
Looking at the numbers, we can expect Kabaddi to keep growing over the next decade. Revenues from Kabaddi would grow while creating many more jobs, not only for players and their staff, but in marketing, advertising, and whatnot. The growth in viewership will inspire younger generations to take up the sport.
That said, why should PKL be the only league that earns all the revenues?
In Cricket, apart from IPL, there are several local leagues, which are broadcasted live on YouTube. Tennis Cricket, a channel that exclusively streams local leagues in Maharashtra, has 637k subscribers. With the growth of a bigger league, several smaller leagues popup.
We can expect something similar in Kabaddi.
I am sure that there are smaller Kabaddi leagues happening across India at the junior level. With investment in production and marketing, businesses can be built on streaming these leagues. Revenue can come in from sponsors as viewership increases.
With YouTube, distribution is practically free. You don’t have to pay to upload videos. The easiest way to start a business today is to take your phone, shoot videos and upload them to YouTube.
In fact, why should such a model be restricted to Kabaddi only? Think about Football, Hockey, Basketball, etc. There is a huge revenue potential to be earned by streaming sports at a local level. For example, district-level school tournaments are great for viewership by school students. If students view their peers on screens, they are likely to engage in the sport more often, even getting encouraged to play sports more often.
For India to be a sporting nation, sports have to reach the nooks and corners of the country. So far, only cricket has been able to do that. Would Kabaddi be the next?
I hope it is.
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December 25, 2019
Buses provide an untapped opportunity for startups
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Introduction
Public transportation is one of the most essential tenets of sustainable cities. A better transportation system cannot just have positive impact towards a greener planet, but also in productivity and happiness.
Even though this is well-known, the fact remains that a lot is to be done. The world is grappling with traffic issues, from Bangkok to Los Angeles.
In India, the central and state governments in the recent years have put emphasis on metro rail projects in the recent years. Bangalore, Pune, Hyderabad, Lucknow, Jaipur are all getting new metro rail systems. The effects of the wide network coverage, however, will only be seen after several years.
For example, the majority of the proposed Mumbai Metro Rail Network will not be ready before 2024. Until then, the construction is only going to put additional pressure on the city. Road closures, air pollution caused by dust, noise pollution, etc. are all visible to naked eyes.
While these giant projects are being executed, we should also think about fixing the easier transportation systems already prevalent across India.
Buses.
Buses make for 90% of public transport in Indian cities. But 80% of the 35000 operational buses in India are in the big cities. Only 63 of 458 Indian cities with a population of 100,000+ have city buses.
For smaller, rapidly growing Indian cities like Indore, Surat, etc. buses can improve the public transportation drastically. Buses can provide the fastest way to boost these cities.
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Image source – UITP
In particular, Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) routes can provide with a way to jump the system. BRT systems include stations, ticket vending machines, raised platforms and 5- to 12-minute frequencies all day long, pretty much the same features as a rail system. In regions with lower density, BRT systems can fill in the gap where governments are debating investing in metro rails or not. In regions with a higher density, while metro is being constructed, a BRT system could be a band-aid solution.
Unlike metro rail, where density is a major constraint, buses don’t have any such constraint. Depending on the density, you can always increase or decrease the frequency of buses. In numeric terms, the cost of a BRT system is one-tenth of a metro train system. Not to mention the faster implementation, lesser disruptions due to construction and less behavioral changes, BRT systems can have a huge impact.
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BRT illustration by Hemant
The best BRT systems in the world are in Bogota, Colombia and Guangzhou, China. The Institution for Transportation and Development Policy (ITDP) describes these as gold standards based on its ranking standard.
Only two Indian cities, Ahmedabad and Indore, satisfy some of the criteria for classification. They are both, however, bronze certified, indicating there is still work to be done. The third Indian city where a BRT corridor is present today, Pimpri-Chinchwad, is not classified as it doesn’t meet its standards.
In Delhi, BRT was implemented over a 3.6-mile long corridor but was shut down in 2017. Lack of proper implementation of a BRT according to standards was the primary reason for the shutdown. The government started on the initiative but rolled back.
We see a similar lack of execution in Pune as well. Only the second Indian city to get a BRT corridor way back in 2006, the city has failed to execute on the promises BRT brought with it. Even after going through a huge initial investment in constructing over 40km long corridor, there are several issues.
Frequent bus breakdowns, lack of buses, lack of punctuality and several other operational reasons contribute to the failure of the BRT. Even though ridership after implementation of BRT grew by 12 to 15 percent, the government has not shown a serious initiative to fix the operational issues.
But what if BRT systems are too costly?
If constructing a BRT system seems too costly, the changes can be made with what is available. For cities with existing buses, increasing punctuality and cleanliness are the easiest things. Introducing more routes, experimenting with frequency and providing more alternatives to individuals is bound to increase ridership.
Public transport is not the enemy, bad public transport is.
People should feel a sense of joy while riding public transport. They shouldn’t look at buses with disgust, but should have a smile on their faces.
This is exactly the kind of work that a private company could solve.
Entrepreneurs, what businesses can you make around buses?
If the government allows private companies to run bus services around cities, they would serve the customers well. At the same time, if enough players enter the market, healthy competition would ensure a drop in fares and a better quality of services.
Free-market theory will find its way.
Startups today are built on the basis of rapid experimentation and innovation. Entirely new business models could come up. What about a bus service which is free for passengers, while the operator earns money through ads? Sound familiar to online businesses?
If a decent service is established, startups have a chance of a high-retention user cohort travelling through their buses each day, something that most startup founders would envy. Though the growth in user base might seem slow, with the right funding, this is a lasting business.
The government could set up guidelines and policies but not bother with the day-to-day of operating a bus company. Just like it sets the framework for telecom and let the private operators battle each other, this will work. By looking to privatize 150 trains and 50 train stations, the government seems to be open to privatization.
Companies like Shuttl are already innovating public transport for the daily commuter. With affordable pricing and a better service, Shuttl is doing a great job of providing good transportation for a daily commuter. Yet, their focus is restricted to only office-commute.
What about others?
This, I think, is a huge, untapped opportunity for entrepreneurs to look into. With 400+ small cities and towns in India, the opportunity to grow is ample.
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December 13, 2019
Sustainable cities
This article explains what a sustainable city is and shares an example of a company working in this space.
“I want to move to a city”
With an ever-growing urban population, India is seeing a tectonic shift in patterns of residence and livelihood. UN says that by 2050, India will have more urban residents than rural residents. Today, about 34% of our population is urban.
Our current big cities are all facing an increasing burden by population. They need to drastically change in order to sustain in the long run.
What is a sustainable city?
According to the World Bank, sustainable cities are resilient cities that are able to adapt to, mitigate, and promote economic, social, and environmental change.
The way I see it — sustainable cities are timeless.
They can be a perennial source of livelihood for citizens. Citizens should enjoy living in these cities. Sustainable development should tackle all aspects of a city’s healthy development – economic, social and environmental.
Examples of sustainable cities in the world
A few cities have shown the path towards sustainability already. Some examples –
Copenhagen is ranked as the greenest city on the planet. The city has a goal of becoming carbon neutral by 2025. It has spent considerable time and money on improving mobility and integrating transport across the city. As a result, as many as 45 percent of its residents commute by bicycles every day.Singapore is testing retrofitting its existing buildings to green standards. The city has a goal to be 80 percent green by 2030. Its public transportation is designed to discourage use of personal vehicles. In fact, the government in Singapore limits car ownership among its residents.
Indian cities have a long way to go to be completely green. But, because of the awareness in recent years, I am hopeful that things will change for the better soon.
One example is smart street lighting, which seems simple, but can lead to a lot of saved energy.
Utopiatech
One of my college friends, Ayush Jain, runs a startup called Utopiatech. They make smart switches for street-lighting, which results in increased monitoring, leading to better optimization of lighting.
It is an application of IoT that goes beyond the much-hyped “Talk to Google Home to control lights” scenario. By deploying the smart switches on a wide grid of streetlights, Utopiatech is poised to have a greater impact on society.
Their devices adapt to the sunset and sunrise times, thus reducing the workload of a switch administrator and helping save energy.
The company already has big clients under their belt, including the Mumbai International Airport.
What products are you thinking about?
The reason I mention Utopiatech here is to encourage people to participate in transforming our cities. Government-level changes might take decades to take effect, so companies should get involved in building solutions to the sustainability problems of our cities.
It is a great opportunity for startups. If you know of interesting startups in this space, let me know! I’ll love to learn about their approach.
Next week, I am going to write about city bus systems and share some examples of what a good bus system looks like.
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