Pro Kabaddi League broadcaster Star Sports signed a record five-year deal worth a "whopping" Rs 300 crore ($45M) with Chinese telecom Vivo, according to the HINDUSTAN TIMES. Vivo had "already entered the Indian sports market" through the Indian Premier League, of which it is the title sponsor. The fifth edition of the Kabaddi League will have 12 teams and more than 130 matches spread over 13 weeks. The deal "accentuates competition on another front." Chinese telecoms are "big time into the Indian sports market with Oppo Mobiles signing a five-year contract" as a sponsor of the Indian cricket team for Rs 1,079 crore ($162.2M). Oppo outbid a Rs 768 crore ($115.4M) offer from Vivo. The deal was signed last month (HINDUSTAN TIMES, 5/8). INDIAN TELEVISION reported Pro Kabaddi has seen "phenomenal growth over the last four seasons with packed stadia and record viewership numbers," emerging as a "benchmark for sports leagues in India." The popularity of Pro Kabaddi "has evoked continually surging sponsor interest" (INDIAN TELEVISION, 5/8).
