Do you see consolidation in the sports space as a positive change?
The sports broadcasting genre saw consolidation and partnerships in 2016 with Sony’s acquisition of the TEN sports portfolio from Zee Entertainment Enterprises, and ESPN’s re-entry into India through a partnership with Sony.
This consolidation is likely to ensure that there are no bidding wars for TV rights’ acquisition, and that both players have key content and properties to ensure compelling sports viewing throughout the year. However, with the draft Trai tariff orders mandating an a-la-carte selection of channels by the consumer, the pricing of sports channels may become slightly costlier for end consumers, due to the segmentation of rights across both players and the current habit of sport viewers of having a whole bouquet at a fixed price.
It is said that cricket continues to contribute 85 per cent of overall revenue generated from sports properties. Do you agree? How is this trend changing?
Cricket dominates the overall revenues of Rs 61-65 billion (as per the FICCI KPMG 2017 report) generated from sports sponsorships, estimated at around 72 per cent share, and has remained at the same level for the last couple of years. Although, in the last two years, interest in non-cricket sports leagues such as the Indian Super League, Pro Kabaddi League, Premier Badminton League, and Hockey India League has increased, the revenues from these leagues are not likely to eat into cricket’s share in the near future. That said, non-cricket sports leagues are growing at a faster pace compared to cricket, albeit with a low base effect.
What was your estimated size of the sports broadcasting business in 2016? How do you see this number change in 2017?
TV sponsorship contributes 37 per cent to the overall sports sponsorship pie, estimated at around Rs 23-25 billion at the end of 2016. IPL has continued to outperform, garnering revenues of around Rs 10-11 billion and World Cup T20 around Rs 2.5-3 billion in 2016. The growth in sports sponsorship revenues (from TV) is expected to be in line with the TV growth at 10 per cent, driven by steady interest in cricket properties, rising sports viewership in rural areas evidenced by the BARC ratings, and continued growth of non-sports leagues.
What will be the biggest trend in sports broadcasting in the year ahead?
Digital sport viewership is likely to rise significantly in 2017, with the proliferation of smartphones and affordable 4G data available to the masses. India already has over 120 million active video viewers. In 2016, cumulative IPL viewership on Hotstar touched the 100-million mark for the season. People also watched Facebook (Live) airing the Futsal League and the Caribbean Premier league. The auction of IPL digital media rights is likely to set a new normal in terms of digital rights acquisition in the country.
