 "Sports sponsorship grew 12.3 per cent in 2015: GroupM ESP Sportzpower report")
According to the ESP Properties Sportzpower report released on Tuesday, sports sponsorship grew 12 per cent in India from Rs 4,616.5 crore in 2014 to Rs 5,185.4 crore in 2015. With ad spending in the country touching Rs 49,758 crore in 2015, sports sponsorship made up 10.4 per cent of the overall advertising pie.
Of the total sponsorship money flowing into the eco-system, on-air sponsorships across the leagues accounted for 30 per cent. On-ground sponsorship revenues drove the increase in total spends as they grew at 30 per cent from Rs 794.8 crore in 2014 to Rs 1,030.5 crore in 2015.
Cricket led the growth as money flowing into the sport through sponsorship grew 13.9 per cent from Rs 464.7 crore in 2014 to Rs 529.5 crore in 2015. The increased spending came at the back of more matches played in India (12 in 2015 versus eight in 2014), Paytm’s acquisition of title sponsorship rights for the Board of Control for Cricket in India matches and MRF and Ceat’s associations with International Cricket Council and Indian Premier League, respectively.
The three companies accounted for 14 per cent of the total spends on cricket.
Non-cricket sports saw a healthy growth in sponsorships with football clocking double in sponsorship revenues, while kabaddi quadrupled revenues in 2015, albeit at a small base in 2014. While cricket commanded the biggest chunk of the pie, the growth was driven mainly by non-cricket sports.
In case of team sponsorship revenues, cricket actually saw a dip in revenues in 2015 (Rs 341.2 crore in 2015 versus Rs 347.8 crore in 2014), while non-cricket sports saw a steady increase, thus resulting in an overall increase in team sponsorship revenues of 13 per cent from Rs 493.6 crore in 2014 to Rs 558.2 crore in 2015.
The sports endorsement segment saw an improvement of 27 per cent in 2015 as international players such as Tiger Woods and Lionel Messi were roped in by Indian companies. International players made up for 25 per cent of the total pie.
Total value of endorsements by sportspersons grew from Rs 327.8 crore in 2014 to Rs 416.4 crore in 2015.
While M S Dhoni, Virat Kohli and Sachin Tendulkar remain the top paid sportsmen in India, women athletes Mary Kom, Saina Nehwal and Sania Mirza account for 40 per cent of the total endorsement value among non-cricketers.
