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For decades, cricket has been the dominant force in Indian sports culture. Its massive popularity has shaped the nation’s perception of sports, monopolized media attention, and influenced generations of aspiring athletes. Yet, in recent years, a subtle shift has begun to reshape this landscape. A new era is unfolding in which other sports are beginning to gain traction, and their presence is increasingly felt on television screens and in public discourse. This transformation has been catalyzed by the emergence of domestic sports leagues and the influence of global sporting events, making room for disciplines beyond cricket to flourish.
In 2016, the Indian viewership of non-cricket live sports grew to contribute over 20% of total sports viewership. This is a significant milestone considering cricket’s historical stranglehold on sports consumption in the country. This shift can be attributed to the increasing popularity of leagues such as the Pro Kabaddi League, Indian Super League, Premier Badminton League, Kabaddi World Cup, Rio Olympics, and the Hockey India League. These properties have strategically leveraged regional pride, team loyalty, and market-specific engagement to carve a niche for themselves in a cricket-obsessed market.
The Pro Kabaddi League has stood out as the most successful non-cricket property, commanding a staggering 61% of the total non-cricket sports viewership. Its closest competitors, the Indian Super League and the Kabaddi World Cup, garnered 16% and 12% respectively. The Premier Badminton League and Rio Olympics followed closely, while the Hockey India League lagged behind with minimal viewership. What makes this data particularly compelling is not just the aggregate numbers, but also the depth of engagement reflected in metrics such as impressions, reach, and audience stickiness.
Kabaddi, which has traditionally been perceived as a rural or grassroots sport, has made a remarkable leap into mainstream media with the Pro Kabaddi League. The sport’s inherent fast pace, physicality, and simplicity make it ideal for television, and the league’s organizers have harnessed this potential through slick packaging and strategic broadcasting. Interestingly, even when viewership is normalized by averaging impressions across events, Kabaddi continues to dominate, reaffirming its resonance with Indian audiences. The sport has also proven its ability to engage viewers more deeply, as demonstrated by the high stickiness levels of the Pro Kabaddi League and the Kabaddi World Cup.
In contrast, while the Indian Super League boasted high impression numbers, its reach was relatively limited. This means that while fewer people tuned in, those who did were highly engaged—a trait advertisers typically find appealing. On the other hand, leagues like the Premier Badminton League and Hockey India League had broader reach but lower impressions, indicating an opportunity for growth in viewer retention and content stickiness. The nature and duration of these sports might partially explain the challenge in holding audience attention, but with better narrative building and focused promotion, these properties have room to grow.
Audience demographics further reveal the changing dynamics of sports viewership in India. Contrary to conventional expectations, a significant portion of viewership for Pro Kabaddi League, Kabaddi World Cup, and Indian Super League came from female audiences. In fact, women accounted for up to 44-56% of viewership for these leagues, suggesting that the myth of sports being a male-only entertainment domain is increasingly unfounded. This growing female engagement offers a huge, untapped potential for advertisers and content creators.
Moreover, the age composition of the audience is equally noteworthy. Kabaddi emerged as the sport with the highest viewership among the 4–14 and 15–30 age brackets. This indicates a youthful and vibrant fan base, which not only bodes well for the future of the sport but also offers a strategic entry point for brands targeting Gen Z and millennials. Football, interestingly, had a substantial audience in the 51+ age category, which might be indicative of nostalgia or long-term affinity among older viewers.
In terms of socioeconomic classification, the Pro Kabaddi League and Indian Super League showed strong resonance with viewers from lower NCCS categories, primarily NCCS C and D/E. Conversely, Rio Olympics and the Premier Badminton League attracted higher engagement from NCCS A, the affluent urban demographic. These distinctions matter deeply to broadcasters and advertisers who are continually refining their messaging to suit the lifestyle, consumption habits, and values of these segments.
Geographic viewership patterns also shed light on regional affinities and the role of home teams. For example, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Maharashtra, and Karnataka were the strongest markets for Kabaddi viewership. This is not surprising given the regional loyalty to teams like Telugu Titans, U Mumba, and Bengaluru Bulls. In contrast, football drew its maximum viewership from Kerala, West Bengal, and the Northeast, reaffirming these regions’ deep-rooted football culture. The Premier Badminton League had surprising traction in the Northeast as well, highlighting the region’s historical strength in badminton.
Interestingly, even the Hockey India League found its strongest audience in Punjab, Haryana, and Chandigarh—areas with a rich legacy in Indian hockey and home to the successful Punjab Warriors team. The correlation between regional performance and viewership is evident. A successful home team boosts regional viewership significantly. Bengaluru Bulls, for example, saw a 17% increase in viewership across Karnataka and a 45% increase in Bangalore during home matches. However, this pattern wasn’t universal. Teams like Jaipur Pink Panthers, Patna Pirates, and U Mumba saw a dip or no significant growth during home matches, partly due to their heavy involvement in away playoff games that naturally attract more national attention.
The Pro Kabaddi League’s meteoric rise deserves a closer examination. Its two seasons in 2016 allowed it to stay in the spotlight longer than any other league. Its format, modeled after the IPL, involved eight teams traveling in a caravan-style schedule across cities. Each team—be it Patna Pirates or Jaipur Pink Panthers—garnered local support that translated into national numbers. But what truly set PKL apart was its unique broadcast strategy. Unlike conventional sports broadcasts limited to dedicated sports channels, PKL expanded its reach by airing on movie channels like Star Gold, Maa Movies, and Star Suvarna Plus. This innovative strategy led to 80% of the league’s viewership originating from these movie channels. Star Gold alone accounted for 41% of the total viewership during both seasons in 2016.
This cross-genre broadcasting move not only democratized viewership but also broadened the league’s appeal. By entering non-traditional entertainment spaces, PKL managed to engage a wider, more diverse audience that may not have actively sought out sports content. This created new avenues for ad revenues and content partnerships.
However, the advertising landscape on PKL reveals an intriguing mismatch. Despite the substantial female and youth viewer base, ad categories targeted at these segments—such as personal care, household products, and education—were underrepresented. Instead, male-focused categories like durables, banking, finance, auto, fuel, and alcohol dominated. This suggests a disconnect between the audience and the advertisers’ perception of the platform’s demographic. The absence of the education sector from PKL, despite its presence on the Indian Super League, further highlights the need for brands to realign their media strategies based on evolving audience profiles.
One of the most strategic findings from the data was the impact of home games. Local matches consistently performed better in their respective regions, reinforcing the importance of regional pride and the value of hyper-local advertising. For marketers, this opens up unique opportunities to deliver geographically targeted campaigns that can resonate more deeply with fans.
The cumulative impact of these trends suggests that Indian sports viewership is undergoing a transformative phase. Cricket remains a cultural juggernaut, but the rise of domestic leagues across sports marks a broader evolution in how Indians consume and relate to sports. The success of the Pro Kabaddi League proves that with the right packaging, regional rooting, and inclusive broadcasting strategies, even indigenous and lesser-celebrated sports can attract massive audiences and significant ad revenues.
The lessons from 2016 extend beyond just viewer behavior. They underscore the importance of content diversity, regional strategy, and cross-platform presence. Advertisers and broadcasters who recognize these shifts and adapt early will be better positioned to capture market share in this new era. As India’s sports ecosystem matures, the emerging leagues are no longer fringe players—they are powerful platforms with their own identities, fanbases, and commercial potential.
In conclusion, while cricket will likely retain its premier status in the Indian psyche for the foreseeable future, the sports horizon is undeniably expanding. The rise of leagues like PKL, ISL, and others signals the beginning of a multipolar sports culture in India. This diversification not only enriches the sporting fabric of the nation but also offers wider opportunities for talent development, content creation, and business growth. The road ahead promises even greater possibilities, and those who invest in this momentum today will help define the future of Indian sports.
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