The fourth season of the Pro Kabaddi League "signed up 11 advertisers as sponsors for the five-week, eight-city tournament" that started on June 25, according to Gouri Shah of LIVE MINT. Official broadcaster Star India is expected to generate revenues of around Rs 70 crore ($10.3M) from this season alone, "50% more than what it earned last year, according to industry estimates." The league is "an attractive platform for advertisers" such as Bharti Airtel Ltd., State Bank of India, Gionee Mobile, Bajaj Electricals, Vini Cosmetics, Fair and Lovely Men, Nestlé Munch, Castrol, Britannia, Bisleri and Indo Nissin, which are among sponsors this season.
According to industry estimates, each sponsor would have paid Rs 4-6 crore ($590,000-$883,000). Unlike other properties, which feature purely on-air advertising and sponsorships, this season, "these deals also offer on-ground and digital visibility." For the Pro Kabaddi League, viewership as well as revenue from sponsorships "have grown." About 430 million people "watched the first season in 2014, the second-most viewed sporting event that year after the Indian Premier League with 552 million viewers." According to a Star Sports spokesperson, viewership for Pro Kabaddi "grew 20% from season 1 to season 2, and 35% from season 2 to season 3." A report by ESP Properties and SportzPower earlier this year said that Star Sports earned approximately Rs 45 crore "in on-air sponsorship revenue from Pro Kabaddi League in 2015" (LIVE MINT, 6/27).
