India has 678 mn sports fans; Cricket, Football, Kabaddi most-watched

Media consulting firm Ormax Media has released its latest research report titled The Ormax Sports Audience Report: 2024. The report is based on India’s largest sports research, conducted between Nov 2023 and Jan 2024, among 12,000 audiences across urban and rural India. The report covers 21 sports, 53 sports tournaments, and 52 clubs & franchises, apart from several aspects related to sports viewing behaviour of Indian audiences.

As per the report, India’s estimated sports audience base is a staggering 678 million (67.8 crore). Cricket, Football & Kabaddi are the top 3 sports, with audience base of 612, 305 & 208 million respectively.

Speaking about the need for the report, Shailesh Kapoor, Founder & CEO - Ormax Media, said: “With an increase in digital consumption, TV viewership is no longer an accurate way of estimating sports consumption in a large and heterogenous country like India. This report is a part of our initiative to build industry data using primary audience research across various categories, and is a follow-up to reports like The Ormax OTT Audience Report, and Sizing The Cinema.”

According to the report, Chennai Super Kings, Manchester United and Patna Pirates are the most-recalled franchises in each of the top 3 sports. For IPL, Mumbai Indians and Royal Challengers Bangalore take the second spot, after Chennai Super Kings.

Virat Kohli is the most popular sportsperson in India, while MS Dhoni is ranked no. 2, despite having retired from professional cricket. The report has differences in popularity of various sports tournaments, franchises and players by various demographic and market segments, such as gender, age, NCCS, pop strata, and states.

Speaking about the report, Keerat Grewal, Head - Business Development (TV, Streaming & Brands), Ormax Media, said: “The Ormax Sports Audience Report: 2024 looks at the Indian sports landscape from an audience-first perspective, and is a comprehensive reckoner for anyone looking at crafting a sports monetization, content or communication strategy for the Indian market, ranging from broadcasters, franchise owners, sports, associations, sports management firms, and advertisers”.