Star Sports has signed up as the title sponsor for the Premier Badminton League, which will see the world’s top players "square off in India’s largest badminton tournament," according to THE HINDU. Given the competition’s stature as well as India’s prominence on badminton’s global stage, "the sport is central to Star Sports’ strategy to foster a multi-sport culture in the country." Star India COO Sanjay Gupta said, "The success of India's badminton stars internationally has led to the emergence of a passionate fan base back home. As a result, like kabaddi, badminton is now a sport that's very close to the hearts of Indian fans." Star Sports "plans to introduce" several broadcast initiatives to the League. The broadcaster "will project telemetry like players’ heart rates live on screen." It will "also hand out four awards after each day of play for the best rally, the fastest smash, the player of the day, and the fan of the day as selected through contests run by franchises across locations" (THE HINDU, 1/1). In Mumbai, Urvi Malvania reported the details about other sponsors and advertisers "are sketchy as of now," though in its '13 season, the PBL (then called IBL) "managed to rope in close to 10 advertisers on-ground" including telecom Vodafone. Media planners "reveal that with non-cricket sports gaining prominence, this year too, advertisers will invest on the league." Given that like tennis, badminton is "slightly more skewed" toward the Social Economic Class A, the money flowing into the league "could be substantial" (BUSINESS STANDARD, 1/2).
