Call it the IPL effect. Nimbus Sports will be spending over Rs 100 crore on World Series Hockey (WSH), making it one of the richest non-cricketing tournament. The league, which kicks off on December 17, is a joint initiative with Indian Hockey Federation (IHF), the country’s apex body for hockey.
The current advertising and on-ground spends on hockey are less than Rs 100 crore a year, according to sports management officials. This is starkly unlike cricket, for which the comparable number is Rs 2,000-2,500 crore.
According to industry officials, Nimbus has earmarked around Rs 40 crore for the marketing of the series, while the eight franchisees will be spending Rs 2-3 crore each for promoting their teams.
Nimbus said it would underwrite the cost of the league, as well as provide IHF with an annual fee for the development of hockey. This would amount to at least Rs 30 crore during the contract or a share of the league’s profits — whichever is higher. In addition, the total prize money is around Rs 10 crore, at par with IPL, or Indian Premier League.
“We are not competing against the IPL or cricket. India is not a one-sport country. There is a vast untapped market,” said Yannick Colaco, chief operating officer of Nimbus Sport. “Hockey is the second most popular sport. It’s just that nobody ever thought of bringing something like this which can draw the people to hockey.”
The tournament, features eight teams — Mumbai, Chennai, Bangalore, Chandigarh, Punjab, Bhopal , Ranchi and Rourkela. That entails the presence of several high-profile corporates like Wizcraft, Zentrum Group and Jubilee Granites besides a leading media house. The contract between the WSH management and the franchisees will run for 15 years.
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There will be 61 matches with over 200 players participating across the globe. The player selection was based on the draft system used by the National Basketball Association in the US.
In order to promote the sport, Nimbus has designed an outreach programme to take hockey to schools , with exhibition matches against schools, star players visiting schools and interacting with kids.
Nimbus is also in talks with various corporates with title sponsorship being pegged at Rs 15 crore per year, said media buyers.
As TAM data provided by Nimbus Sports suggests for a country obsessed with cricket, there has been a steady rise in viewership of other sports. The Hockey World Cup and Common Wealth Games had rating of 1.59, which is almost equal to Test matches played by India which fetches a rating of 1.02.
On the other hand, the success of the Indian Premier League, has prompted several business houses and celebrities to look at sports as an investment. “We see tremendous opportunity in sports in terms of a business and more importantly in building a loyal fan base,” said Sabbas Joseph, Director Wizcraft International, which owns the Delhi team. “This is an important step that will further expand the canvas for Wizcraft and help build a strong following for our national game.”
KWAN Entertainment and Marketing Solutions said the move would revitalise the interest in the game, though it would be “unfair” to compare it with IPL. “Given the publicity and promotion that Nimbus would put behind the series, there is potential for earning revenue though it would be unfair to compare it with IPL,” said Indranil Das Blah, its chief operating officer.
In fact, the country’s first commercial sporting league was conceptualised for hockey. The Premier Hockey League (PHL) which ran for three years — from 2005 — before IPL became a huge success. PHL was a success in Chandigarh and some other cities with the stands packed to capacity.
However, PHL could not catch the imagination of the entire country, notes Colaco. “It was confined only to the northern parts. The WSH will be played in various cities for a wider reach,” he adds.