GroupM ESP, the Sports & Entertainment arm of GroupM Media and IIM Ahmedabad have collaborated to provide a comprehensive analysis of factors that contribute to the success of sports leagues in an emerging market like India.
The report which examines the parameters and latest trends that are shaping and impacting the sports industry worldwide also drives many inferences on sports IP’s in India. This time at EE, we list down 4 takeways from GroupM ESP-IIM Ahmedabad Sports League White Paper 2015.
1-The sports industry in both emerging and mature market is growing faster than GDP
Over the years the format of the sporting leagues have changed and they are being marketed more aggressively than before. Research indicates that a better infrastructure and better governmental support has led to this change and their popularity is only expected to increase in the upcoming times. As of 2011 the size of the sporting industry was termed to be of 620 million us $ and is growing at a rate of 6%. The registered growth in India is 17% which will further lead to the rise of many more sporting leagues and IP’s
2- Spending by average household on education and recreation to go up
The report also suggests that the upcoming times will be beneficial for sports marketing and entertainment as the average spending by households on education and recreation are expected to grow from 5% to 9% between 2005-2025. An added bonus to the figures is the expected average salary increase for every household which is expected to increase from 4%-41% between 2005-2025. Thus, the more entertainment served will be leading to the more profits earned.
3-Sports business growth to be driven through digital and social engagement
The report also states that the latest trends in the sports business will be that their growth will be determined through digital and social engagement. As a result we will see more of technological driven initiatives and engagements and social media will also play a key role in the overall marketing and success of sporting leagues. This finding also illustrates the fact that the consumers will be more tech savvy in the future and the entertainment from television is most likely to be moving to other mobile platforms.
4-Fan acceptability of leagues to be the success measure
Rather than drawing conclusions from the revenues earned in the first few editions the success measurement of a sporting league should be determined by fan acceptability instead, says the report. This finding underlines the fact that sporting leagues are going to take times to develop from their nascent stage and should not aim and expect profit chunks from the get go. With acceptability of fans attainted first, more success and revenue are likely to follow.
