Sports Sponsorship in India up by 12 percent last year

Sports sponsorship grew by 12.3 per cent last year to Rs. 51,854 million in the country and even as cricket continues to be the biggest chunk in the industry, other sports have been the growth drivers, says a report.
The sports sponsorship amount is 10.4 per cent of the total Indian advertisement expenses in 2015, said the report prepared by ESP Properties and SportzPower National, according to a media release.
Into its third edition now, the report on the Indian sports sponsorship market discusses the success of non-cricket leagues, fan engagement and how brands can maximise value from association with sports.

The report covers the size of the sports industry of India in four parts -- on- ground sponsorship, team sponsorship and franchise fee, athlete (player) management and on-air sponsorship investments, it said.
The report also examines how, while cricket continues to be the biggest chunk in the sports industry pie, non-cricket sports are emerging as growth drivers.
One key finding of the report is that overall sports sponsorship grew from Rs 46,165 million in 2014 to Rs 51,854 million last year.

There was an increase of 13 per cent in team sponsorship, the major growth driver being non cricket-sports, even as cricket team sponsorship dropped due to less number of matches in 2015.

The endorsements industry grew by 27 per cent.
Longer live content duration with emerging sports leagues such as PKL, ISL, HIL, PWL, wider reach and consistent performance metrics of non-cricket sports could help in garnering more spends in future, the report noted.