 "Pro Kabaddi League season 2 to have 5-7 on-air sponsors")
Much like the ICC Cricket World 2015 which the network aired last year, the second season of PKL will also be telecast in multiple languages. The tournament will be telecast in five different languages across eight channels - on Star Sports 2 and Star Sports HD2 in English; on Star Sports 3, Star Sports HD3 and Star Gold in Hindi; on Maa Movies in Telugu; on Suvarna Plus in Kannada; and Star Pravah in Marathi. While this will encourage viewership across geographies, it also opens up more ad-spots to be sold across the network.
“After the success of the inaugural season, we received intense commercial interest from brands across sectors like auto, telecom and e-commerce. However, we have decided to deepen our investment to nurture the sport by retaining the title sponsorship for the second season of the Star Sports Pro Kabaddi League. We intend raising the value of the league for future seasons and further grow the sport,” says a spokesperson from Star India. He, however, refused to comment on the rate for the sponsorship.
While the broadcaster had said last year that it would not look at monetising its investment in the league in the first season, the success of the league in 2014 has given it leg room to do so this year. As a result, sources reveal the associate sponsorship for this season has come at between Rs 5 crore and Rs 7 crore a year. The title sponsorship, however, rests with Star Sports. Estimates peg the investment in the league at Rs 100 crore last year and Rs 70 crore this year. Star India had in earlier interactions with Business Standard said that it was willing to wait for three-to-five years before breaking even on the league.
The sponsorship deals have been worked around the principle of congruence. Seeing that the first season gained traction across all audiences - male, female and kids - the broadcasters have offered on-air, digital and on-ground as a package with customised deliverables. This is some thing the sponsors and their customers would find exciting. The league will also be available on the network’s online streaming app hotstar.
Star India will launch the marketing campaign for the league on June 24. The PKL is promoted by Anand Mahindra’s Mashal Sports in association with sports commentator Charu Sharma and Lex & Legal Services’ Rajiv Luthra. Earlier this year, Star India picked up 74 per cent stake in Mashal Sports for an undisclosed sum.
The league’s first season was sampled by 435 million viewers in India over its five-week run, making it the second-most viewed sporting tournament in the country in 2014 after the annual twenty-20 tournament Indian Premier League, which in its 2014 edition was viewed by 552 million.