Other sports are keen to follow the IPL model but do they have the resources, vision and most importantly, money to sustain it?
The year was 2005. Indian Hockey Federation joined hands with broadcaster ESPN Star to launch Premier Hockey League (PHL). It was a glitzy affair, matches were played under lights, and foreign players and the organisers tried to sow the seeds of tribalism among fans. City-based teams like Sher-e-Jalandhar, Chennai Veerans and Maratha Warriors were formed to give a shot in the arm to a sport in decline. To a certain extent, it did. Sponsors poured in, ratings were encouraging in the first season and the PHL merchandise sold quite well. But then like most other sports which aren’t cricket, PHL fizzled out and folded in 2008.
Along came IPL, and suddenly, the franchise model looked like a gold mine. Now other sports are trying to replicate IPL’s business model. Hockey, kabaddi, volleyball and badminton have all launched their respective leagues.
World Series of Boxing was announced in 2009 with 12 cities from Asia, Europe and the US as participants. Videocon bought the franchisee rights for India and Delhi was meant to play the host. Two years later, the series which was to be promoted by sports marketing company IMG is stuck in a limbo with no news of what’s happening to it.
Volleyball Federation of India (VFI), which launched the Indian Volleyball League (IVL) on May 29, says that the idea had been floating for the last three years. “Our aim is to make the sport more popular,” says Ravikanth Reddy, the league’s chairman. IVL will be held across four cities — Chennai, Bangalore, Yanam and Hyderabad. Each team will play a match against other teams in each city. The final leg will be held at the Kotla Vijaya Bhaskara Reddy Stadium in Hyderabad from June 21. VFI selected 60 top players and then drew lots to assign 10 players each to each team. Each team also has the provision for two overseas players. The prize money is about Rs 25 lakh.
The format looks in place but what about sponsors and the money? So far, there are no title sponsors and each team, according to Reddy, has to get its own sponsors. Chennai Spikers have roped in SAIL and a few local sponsors to support it. The others seem to be struggling still. “There will be hurdles initially but we’re in this for the long run,” says Reddy.
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Amateur Kabaddi Federation of India (AKFI) has launched Indian Kabaddi League which begins on June 8 in Vijaywada. Maharashtra Badminton Association held its Maharashtra Badminton League (MBL) last month with teams like Sensational Skylarks and Daring Doves. MBL, the brain-child of Pune-based realtor Aniruddh Deshpande, received lukewarm response even though India’s number two women’s badminton player, Aditi Mutkar, took part in the tournament and so did some other national-level players. “It’s a start and we are hopeful that in the years to come it will become a national-level event,” says Deshpande.
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When PHL was launched six years ago, ESPN and IHF were to develop the property for a ten-year period. But due to drop in viewership and the IHF being a mess it was, the partnership fell apart. Viren Rasquinha, COO, Olympic Gold Quest and former India hockey captain, feels that PHL had a lot going for it. There were sponsors, big-name players and fan following. “Sustaining a property like this needs long-term vision and above all, patience,” he says. The new leagues, he says, seem to be jumping on the bandwagon. While IPL has a business model, these leagues are following it in terms of auctions and foreign players but have no proper structure. In these cases, the league is created first and the hunt for sponsors begins later. Case in point: IVL.
Most experts believe that these tournaments will not last long and are just a flash in the pan. The money being offered to athletes is paltry compared to IPL. The badminton players earned about Rs 25,000 for three weeks of competing in the league. The entire budget of IVL is Rs 1.6 crore. Compare that to ILP where the players’ salaries run into crores.
World Series Hockey (WSH) which is supposed to start in November wants to marry sports and entertainment, just like IPL did. Nimbus would be marketing the property in India and when announcing it in December 2010, it said that the players would earn Rs 40 lakh per season. About 60 international players are expected to take part in WSH which is estimated to be worth Rs 125 crore.
Hockey still generates some emotional connect with spectators, but what about other sports? While Nimbus has a TV channel to broadcast and market WSH, the other leagues are being shown on DD Sports with almost no viewership. “It won’t work,” says a former executive of ESPN who worked closely on PHL. “Other sports can ape the IPL model, but it will not help them in any way,” he adds. There is no money, no viewership and very little interest among sponsors in sports like volleyball and kabaddi, says a sports marketing company head who was offered to float similar leagues.
“It’s not serious business for anyone,” he adds. That IVL organisers are offering bonuses of Rs 500 for every point scored is just one of the indicators.
