 "PKL Season 3 nets 189 million viewers")
It reached close to 189 million viewers in the first 14 days of Season 3 (January 30–February 12). And, the game’s pull seems almost equal in urban and rural centres — the former contributed 90 mn viewers and the other 99 mn came from the latter.
The opening week’s viewership was 36 per cent higher than week-1 last year. Viewership at the All India Urban level rose 39 per cent in those two weeks, from 106 TVMs (TV viewership in millions) in Season 2 to 147 TVMs in Season 3. Rural India delivered a staggering 271 TVMs (BARC CS4+ Rural) for its first two weeks in Season 3. Since the Broadcast Audience Research Council started recording and reporting rural viewership data only after conclusion of the second season, there is no previous data to compare. TVM refers to the number of people viewing a TV programme at any given point in its telecast.
Sanjay Gupta, COO at Star India, says: “Kabaddi is the reflection of our commitment to foster a multi-sport culture in India, by transforming the sport into a contemporary offering.”
No other sport has shown such a fast pace of growth as kabaddi; Star Sports Pro Kabaddi has unified India by gaining extensive following across urban and rural India, audience segments and screens (television and digital). Kabaddi is the country’s second most viewed sport, second only to cricket. Sponsorship interest has been very encouraging. We have seen many renewals, as well as new brands, coming on board for Season 3. We are also seeing a lot of first-time sport advertisers.”
The sport also continues to fetch engagement via the digital medium, with a 33 per cent growth in total minutes viewed on hotstar, the digital platform of Star India, over the first 11 days of Season 2. The consistent interest by viewers has resulted in more brands willing to invest as sponsors and advertisers. The league has not only retained its sponsors from last year – State Bank of India, TVS Motor, Bajaj Electricals, Flipkart. It added Gionee Mobiles and Idea Cellular as associate sponsors and got three new commercial partners in the form of PepsiCo, Indo Nissin Foods and Fair & Lovely Men Facewash.
The teams have fared equally well, with each of the eight attracting more in sponsorships with each season. From a couple of sponsorships in the first season, all teams now boast of five to seven sponsors each, with the sponsorship value ranging from Rs 1 to 4 crore, depending on placement of the brand and performance of the team.
CLARIFICATION
This version rectifies Sanjay Gupta's designation. Gupta is Star India COO and not the operations head as mentioned earlier.
