UMumba gets the eyeballs

The kabaddi league's Mumbai franchise targets Rs 15 crore in sponsorship revenue in season 2

Having finished runners-up in the inaugural season of the Star Sports Pro Kabaddi League (PKL) last year, Ronnie Screwvala's Mumbai franchise UMumba is eyeing Rs 12-15 crore in sponsorship revenues this year. While that may seem loose change compared to what teams at the Pepsi Indian Premier League managed to get, sports brand observers say it's a significant improvement considering that last year, everyone in the Kabaddi league's eco-system, including the broadcaster Star Sports, found it difficult to find a single major sponsorship.

Supratik Sen, CEO - U Sports, the unit of Unilazer that runs the team, says brands are positive about PKL Season 2. Those who come on board with UMumba are Nise Gel in the associate sponsor space, American Tourister as the travel gear partner and Red Bull as energy drink partner. The team has six more categories, negotiations for which are in the final stages. Top teams in the league will look to close out revenues in the range of Rs 12-15 crore in season 2, Sen adds.

Last year, UMumba finished a close second to Abhishek Bachchan's Jaipur Pink Panthers. Earlier this year, Bachchan had also revealed that the team will look at making around Rs 15 crore in sponsorship revenue, with principal spots (front and back of the jersey) fetching a lion's share (almost Rs 8 crore) of the pie. Both the teams had an asking rate of Rs 6 crore a year and settled at Rs 4 crore post negotiations, sources say.

Sen believes that apart from UMumba doing well, the success of the league in general has helped. "Brands saw that a significant audience is engaging with the game, especially games involving UMumba and Jaipur Pink Panthers. They see now that there is scope to reach a segment of the audience across metros and tier 2 and 3 areas," says Sen.

According to TAM data (cable and satellite viewers above 15 years of age in the SEC A, B and C markets across India), UMumba games rated in the range of 1.5 to 1.7 TVR (television rating point) on an average, with the final getting a rating of 3.7 TVR. These are impressive numbers considering it was the first time that kabaddi was being televised in India. The average TVR on the Hero Indian Super League was around 0.8 to 1.

In fact, the PKL was the most watched sports tournament in the nation after the Pepsi IPL with a reach of 435 million viewers. The Pepsi IPL led the charts in 2014 with 560 million viewers in terms of reach. (Reach is the measurement that gives the number of people who have seen the tournament for at least one minute during its telecast).

The principal sponsorship rates of teams in the PKL is in fact just shy of the rates demanded by the Hero ISL franchises last year. The average sponsorship rate last year was Rs 4 to 5 crore for principal jersey placement in case of the franchises.

"Apart from the viewership success, kabaddi is a sport that provides better on-screen visibility. The visual frame is tighter, hence the brands can be seen more clearly. Compare the frame in a cricket or football match with that of a kabaddi match. The players are seen closer and hence the brands on their jerseys, the banners at the periphery and other on-ground brand is in sharper focus. We pointed this out in our presentations as well," says Sen.

Brands seem to be listening. EP Suresh Menon, CEO (India & Middle East) at Samsonite South Asia Pvt Ltd, says kabaddi has a huge following, much like the American Tourister brand. UMumba was the frontrunner throughout last season and the team carved a niche for itself as a contemporary, stylish yet fierce brand on and off the field. "We believe in UMumba's vision and are glad to partner them in the sport's growth story at this nascent stage."

While the top two teams can hope to break even this year - perhaps the fastest such feat in a league in recent times - the other teams may take a year or so more to do so. Last year, the teams spent an average Rs 5-6 crore on ownership fees, player acquisition, stadium development and team management. The revenues were minimal, under a crore for most. This year, the investment is expected to go up by Rs 1.5-2 crore as the salary cap on players has been more than doubled (Rs 1.25 crore this year against Rs 60 lakh this year) and teams have ramped up their marketing efforts.