Cricket gives brands a ticket to Indian growth

NEW DELHI For companies looking to raise their profiles in India, the pitch is the place to be -- the cricket pitch, that is.

Soccer is increasingly popular in the South Asian nation of 1.3 billion, with rising sponsorship figures to show for it. But it is cricket that still owns the nation's heart. Businesses see it as their ticket to expansion in the world's fastest-growing major economy.

Every four years, the country turns its gaze to the International Cricket Council's World Cup. India has won twice, in 1983 and 2011. Sponsors from around the globe paid top dollar for association with the last tournament, held in Australia and New Zealand in 2015. The list included South Korea's LG Electronics and Hyundai Motor, India's Reliance Communications and tire manufacturer MRF, Dubai-based airline Emirates, Reebok International and British company Castrol.

The Indian Premier League, meanwhile, gives fans an annual cricket fix. Now in its ninth season, it involves eight teams owned by top industrialists and celebrities. The Board of Control for Cricket in India, which created the IPL, calls it the biggest brand in cricket history, citing an appraisal by U.S. financial services company Duff & Phelps that valued the league at 270 billion rupees ($4.03 billion).

The IPL broadcasting and streaming rights have become a big moneymaker for the Board of Control -- the world's richest cricket board, with a net worth of 78.47 billion rupees in the fiscal year ended March.

Sony Pictures Networks India currently holds the broadcasting license. Its initial contract expires in 2017, but the company is keen to stay in the game, according to a study by consultancy KPMG and the Confederation of Indian Industry. The report notes that Sony Pictures Networks paid 82 billion rupees for the 2009-2017 seasons. Star India, owned by U.S. media conglomerate 21st Century Fox, paid 3 billion rupees for the 2015-2017 digital streaming rights. Facebook and Twitter are reportedly both pursuing the digital rights.

Total television viewership for IPL 2016 came to 1.02 billion, according to data in the cricket board's annual report. KPMG estimated the impact of the 2015 season on the Indian economy at 11.5 billion rupees, more than 0.6% of the gross domestic product.

The KPMG study says India's overall sports sponsorship market grew 12.5% on the year in 2015, reaching about 52 billion rupees. Indian Super League soccer and the Pro Kabaddi League -- a tournament for the indigenous sport kabaddi -- saw significant growth. Still, cricket attracted the bulk of the money.

Satya Pal, a New Delhi resident, said his family follows cricket like a religion. "During IPL seasons and international matches involving the Indian team, we are just glued to the TV," he said. "This is perhaps the case almost everywhere in India."

Resource: http://asia.nikkei.com/