Sports broadcasting garnered Rs 7,560 cr revenues in FY22: Report

While India has been steadily improving when it comes to being a major sporting nation, the consumption of this genre in India is significantly under-indexed. Sports contributes only 3 per cent of the total viewing on television as compared to developed countries such as the US where the number is closer to 10 per cent. This was revealed in a report, titled ‘Sports Broadcasting on TV – A Match Made in Heaven’, released during the 11th edition of CII Big Picture Summit 2022 in Delhi.

Amongst all the genres of content consumed through television, sports has the highest reach.  During the first nine months of the year 2022, content related to sports was consumed by approximately 722 million viewers. This genre has remained largely resilient to the COVID-19 headwinds and is expected to scale up to the 2019 highs by the close of this year.

The advertisers’ interest in sports broadcasts has grown strongly with the increasing viewership and demographic reach offered by sports properties. Both traditional and new age businesses have turned the spotlight on sports broadcasting with this segment recording revenues of approximately Rs 7,560 crore in FY22. The growth trajectory in India is expected to continue with the increasing penetration of TV across NCCS AB demographics and the growing interest in sports.

Key highlights from the report:

Scale of TV and Profile of Viewers

• 210 MM linear TV households in India, estimated to grow to 248 MM in 2026, implying penetration up from 70% to 76%
• Contrary to perception, TV penetration is growing amongst affluent households. TV penetration in NCCS AB households grew by 17% from 2019 to 2022, representing an increasingly attractive audience for advertisers, which can be effectively monetised

Limited Scale of Digital and Cord Cutting

• TV enjoys an overall reach of 900 million compared to the 450-500 million monthly active users of digital in 2022
• Cord cutting today limited to just 0.5 MM in India (a mere ~0.2% of the overall TV universe). Projected growth also estimated to be only 13 MM by 2026 (~5% of the projected TV universe)
• Pay TV pricing 3.5-4x in favour of TV, compared to OTT platforms, implying cord cutting at a large scale unlikely to be witnessed in India
• The adoption of connected TV in India is nascent at ~10 million owing to low fixed broadband penetration and relatively higher entry costs. This coupled with structural impediments around cord cutting, implies that TV will continue to dominate as a media platform

Power of Sports on TV

• Sports on TV continues to be the largest platform in India, with viewership at 722 miilion (in the first 9 months of 2022). Expected to surpass the 776 million viewership of 2019
• TV delivers 9X more concurrent viewers: The India vs. Pakistan match (2021 T20 World Cup) saw a ~9x difference in the concurrent users on TV (~116 million) as compared to digital (12.8 million)
• IPL 2022 had an overall reach of 400 MN; 80 per cent higher than combined reach of KBC, Bigg Boss, The Kapil Sharma Show, Khatron Ke Khiladi and Shark Tank
• TV is a critical platform for digital first brands as the reach achieved against cost of impressions is unmatched vis-à-vis any other media platform. Brands in the grocery delivery space and fintech have seen massive growth in downloads, by being present on IPL TV

Commenting on the statuesque of Sports broadcasting in India, Sanjog Gupta, Head – Sports, Disney Star, said, “Sports on TV is an unrivalled aggregator of shared viewing experiences. It is highly enriching and unique as it brings together the 'lean back' nature of TV viewing with the highly immersive engagement of live sport. No other platform or content genre offers this rare combination of virtues, which beyond attracting 550+ million viewers, also serve as the ideal vehicle for brands trying to reach and engage consumers. There is immense headroom for growth for Sports on TV with viewership still under-indexed compared to other content genres, constrained primarily by paucity of relevant supply. Viewership for sports like Kabaddi, Football and Wrestling reaching critical mass, and the growth of Women's Cricket, have served as strong signals for the upward trajectory of sports on TV.”