The Prime Volleyball League (PVL) has taken a significant leap forward in India’s sporting ecosystem, with Season 4 recording a staggering 239 million views across live television and digital platforms.
Held in Hyderabad earlier this year, the fourth season of the RR Kabel Prime Volleyball League powered by Scapia marked a defining moment not just for volleyball, but for how emerging sports leagues can scale audience engagement in India.
According to figures released on 13 January 2026, PVL Season 4 delivered a 27.2 percent growth over Season 3, firmly establishing itself as the league’s most successful edition to date. The growth was underpinned by a clear and deliberate digital-first strategy, reflecting a changing consumption pattern among Indian sports fans, particularly younger audiences.
Digital-First Strategy Drives Record Growth
One of the most striking takeaways from Season 4 was the sheer scale of digital engagement. Across all platforms and content categories, the league recorded 1.1 billion total views, a landmark achievement for an emerging Indian sports league. Central to this success was PVL’s one-of-a-kind partnership with YouTube, a first for any Indian sports league, which allowed live matches to be streamed freely and widely.
YouTube emerged as the league’s most powerful engagement driver. PVL delivered over 500 hours of live broadcast across six Sony Sports Network channels, with coverage available in six languages. This multi-language, multi-platform approach significantly expanded the league’s reach beyond traditional volleyball audiences.
For the first time, PVL live matches were also streamed directly on YouTube in Hindi, English, Tamil, Malayalam, Telugu and Kannada, generating 151 million cumulative digital views during the season. Notably, 80 percent of the digital audience fell within the 18–44 age bracket, highlighting PVL’s strong connection with mobile-first, younger viewers who are shaping the future of sports consumption in India.
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While digital growth grabbed headlines, PVL’s television numbers also showed steady progress. Cumulative live TV viewership reached 88.2 million, marking a 7 percent increase over Season 3. Importantly, the league recorded a near-even gender split on television, with 57 percent male and 43 percent female viewers, a rare and encouraging statistic in Indian sports broadcasting.
This balanced demographic underscores volleyball’s broad appeal and positions PVL as a league with the potential to engage diverse audiences, both on and off digital platforms.
Creators, Short-Form Content and Youth Engagement
A defining feature of PVL Season 4 was its emphasis on short-form storytelling and creator-led content. Collaborations with platforms like Snapchat allowed the league to experiment with bite-sized, youth-oriented narratives that extended beyond live match coverage.
Volleyball-focused creators were formally recognized as league ambassadors, giving them a more integrated role within the PVL ecosystem. This approach proved highly effective. Creator-led content alone delivered over 48 million views across 353 videos, despite only a marginal increase in overall content volume compared to the previous season.
Overall, PVL generated 105 million social media engagements during Season 4 nearly 30 times higher than the previous year. This exponential growth reinforced the league’s belief that creators are no longer peripheral promoters but central stakeholders in building long-term sports fandom.
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Reflecting on the season’s success, Joy Bhattacharjya, CEO of Prime Volleyball League, highlighted the league’s commitment to innovation. He noted that PVL has consistently explored new formats and platforms, and Season 4 demonstrated how strongly that approach resonates with today’s digital-first audiences.
Echoing that sentiment, Tuhin Mishra, MD and Co-Founder of Baseline Ventures, PVL’s exclusive marketing partner, emphasised the importance of putting digital at the centre of the league’s growth strategy. By partnering closely with platforms and empowering creators, PVL was able to grow its audience in a manner that felt both authentic and sustainable.
With record-breaking digital growth, rising television viewership and a rapidly expanding youth fan base, Prime Volleyball League Season 4 has set a new benchmark for emerging sports leagues in India. More than just impressive numbers, PVL’s success offers a blueprint for how non-cricket leagues can build scale, relevance and long-term fandom through a digital-first ecosystem.
As Indian sports audiences continue to diversify, PVL’s Season 4 stands as a compelling case study in how innovation, accessibility and creator-driven storytelling can reshape the future of sports consumption in the country.
