When JioStar recently tried to exit its $3 billion ICC media rights deal, it sent shockwaves through India’s sports broadcasting industry. But beneath the headlines about the “Cricket Bubble” lies a more compelling story: the quiet revolution happening in India’s non-cricket sports ecosystem, where smart sponsors and broadcasters are discovering untapped audiences and unprecedented growth.
The Cricket Conundrum: A Market Under Pressure
JioStar’s predicament tells us everything about cricket’s current economics. The broadcaster is paying roughly ₹138 crore per ICC game when an IPL game costs around ₹114 crore. But here’s the kicker: in a four-year ICC cycle, India plays only 28-30 guaranteed games. That’s a massive liability for a market that the 2025 fantasy gaming ban has already stripped of ₹7,000 crore in annual advertising revenue.
The math is sobering. With Direct-To-Home subscribers projected to drop below 51 million and the linear TV cash cow drying up, broadcasters are being forced into the notoriously unprofitable digital streaming space. Meanwhile, cricket rights continue to inflate like a balloon that everyone knows will eventually pop.
The Hidden Giants: Badminton, Athletics and Beyond
While cricket struggles with oversaturation, non-cricket sports are quietly building empires. The Pro Kabaddi League now commands 280 million viewers, making it India’s second-most-watched sport. Season 10 saw 225 million viewers and 38 billion minutes of watch time. More impressively, Season 11 maintained 201 million viewers, becoming the most-watched non-cricket sporting league in 2024.
The numbers reveal a fascinating truth: PKL offers high regional engagement at dramatically lower costs. Its media rights deal is worth ₹900 crore over multiple seasons, with some franchises like Haryana Steelers reporting annual profits of ₹2 crore. Unlike the financially troubled Indian Super League, PKL maintains positive margins and high sponsor retention.
Football, despite recent challenges, still boasts 305 million fans. Athletics is growing rapidly year on year. We have more and more badminton and tennis academies popping up. where we see scores of kids practicing and playing. But more telling is where the audience comes from: 59% of India’s sports audience lives in rural areas, and for them, Kabaddi and Kho Kho rank right after cricket as preferred sports.
The Cost-Benefit Revolution
Here’s where the story gets interesting for sponsors. While the BCCI set a minimum price of ₹350 crore for Team India’s lead sponsorship (Dream11 paid ₹358 crore), brands can sponsor international cricket teams for a fraction of that cost. Karnataka’s Nandini bagged sponsorship for Cricket Ireland and Scotland at just ₹2.5 crore per team, making Indian team sponsorship 196% more expensive for comparable exposure.
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Non-cricket sports extend this value proposition dramatically. According to GroupM ESP’s 2024 report, sponsorships in non-cricket sports grew 19% to reach ₹2,461 crore, with distance running alone accounting for a quarter of this growth. The kicker? Athlete endorsements in non-cricket sports surged 46%, led by Olympic stars like Neeraj Chopra, PV Sindhu, and Manu Bhaker.
The total athlete endorsement market hit a record ₹1,224 crore in 2024, up 32% from the previous year, marking the highest growth in 14 years. For brands seeking visibility without the clutter of 2,000+ cricket sponsors, emerging sports offer clear blue water.
The Demographic Dividend
The real opportunity lies in understanding who’s watching. India’s sports fanbase has expanded to 655 million people, with Gen Z accounting for 43%. This generation isn’t showing the single-sport loyalty of their parents. They’re switching between Pro Kabaddi matches, ISL fixtures, and even esports tournaments, with 93% accessing sports content online.
Even more compelling: 90% of Indian sports fans now follow multiple sports, creating broader investment opportunities across sectors. The audience is also remarkably diverse, with women comprising 36% of fans. For kabaddi specifically, the multilingual broadcast in Hindi, Tamil, Kannada, and Telugu has enabled deep penetration across 12 cities and rural heartlands.
The Smart Money is Moving
While cricket captured 85% of industry revenue with total spends of ₹14,173 crore in 2024, it managed only 3% year-on-year growth. The real action is elsewhere. Digital media spending in sports witnessed a robust 25% increase, reflecting shifting consumption patterns.
Consider the trajectory: India’s sports industry is projected to reach ₹3.4 lakh crore (approximately $130 billion) by 2030, growing at 12-14% annually. Individual sports are on track for a 16.76% CAGR between 2025 and 2030. Merchandising, currently modest, is projected at 19.26% CAGR through 2030 as fans convert emotional attachment into year-round purchasing.
Brands like Tata Motors have already discovered this arbitrage. As their marketing head noted, media efficiencies of non-cricket sports become “much more lucrative” compared to expensive cricket. For brands targeting “middle India,” homegrown sports like Kabaddi and wrestling offer a perfect fit, representing strength and physical prowess while delivering superior ROI.
The Ultimate Kho Kho Case Study
Perhaps nothing illustrates the opportunity better than Ultimate Kho Kho. Launched in 2022, this modernized traditional sport reached 64 million global viewers in its inaugural season, including 41 million from India, making it the third-most-viewed non-cricket sports league. The total media footprint crossed 164 million impressions, powered by innovations like Spidercam and multilingual coverage.
This is a sport that barely existed in a professional format three years ago. Today, it has a sustainable broadcast model, a growing audience, and proven commercial viability. It’s not competing with cricket; it’s creating entirely new viewing occasions and fan engagement opportunities.
The Path Forward: Scale Without Unit Economics
Scale without Unit Economics is just a hobby. Cricket proved this rule could be broken, but only for so long. The fantasy gaming ban, DTH subscriber decline, and mounting rights costs have exposed the vulnerability of putting all eggs in one basket.
Smart broadcasters and sponsors are recognizing that outcome-based rights and smaller, more fragmented deals are the future. Emerging sports offer exactly this: authentic fan engagement, growing audiences, superior cost-efficiency, and room for actual profitability rather than just prestige.
The question isn’t whether cricket will remain India’s premier sport—it will. The question is whether sponsors and broadcasters will continue overpaying for oversaturated exposure when untapped goldmines exist just beyond the boundary line.
The numbers are clear. The audience is waiting. The only question is, who’ll be smart enough to make the move before everyone else catches on?
As India’s sports ecosystem undergoes its biggest transformation since the IPL’s launch, the real winners will be those who recognize that in a market of 655 million sports fans following multiple sports, the future isn’t about choosing between cricket and non-cricket. It’s about building portfolios that capture the full spectrum of India’s sporting passion—at prices that actually make business sense.
