Sports sponsorship spends grow 24% to reach Rs 7,345 crore in 2023: Report

Total sports sponsorship spends grew by 24% to reach Rs 7,345 crore in 2023. It stood at Rs 5,907 crore in 2022, according to GroupM ESP, the entertainment, esports and sports division of GroupM India.

Of the total spends on sports sponsorships, ground sponsorship spends stood at Rs 2,953 crore (up 6% YoY), team sponsorship at Rs 1,600 crore (up 22% YoY) and franchise fee at Rs 2,628 crore (up 60% YoY) in 2023.

Out of the overall sports sponsorship spending of Rs 7,345 crore, cricket dominated with Rs 5,817 crore, marking a significant 32% year-on-year growth. Meanwhile, emerging sports made a contribution of Rs 1,528 crore, experiencing only a modest 2% year-on-year growth.

Cricket enjoys huge popularity and following among the large sports-loving population of India. It, therefore, takes the pole position when it comes to the journey of commercialisation we are embarking upon. If 2022 saw India’s leading sport scoring three-fourths of the team’s total by contributing 75% of the overall sponsorship value, the numbers got even more skewed last year, as the equivalent figure rose to 79%. 

The GroupM ESP’s ‘Sporting nations in the making’ report stated that a key enabler for this was the favourable schedule of the men’s cricket team- they had played 64 international matches across tests, ODIs and T20Is in a busy year. This included the ODI World Cup that India hosted, the Asia Cup which saw India lifting the trophy, and the ICC World Test Championships finals. 

On the sponsorship table, IDFC First Bank opened a premium account with cricket by coming on board as the Title Sponsor for BCCI matches in a three-year deal valued at Rs 4.2 crore per match, while SBI Life provided protection to their branding interests by playing the role of an Official Partner. 

In another big move of the year, sportswear giant Adidas became the Kit Sponsor of the Indian Cricket Team. This contract with the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) runs through to March 2028, and it gives the sponsor the exclusive rights to manufacture the kits across all formats of the game. 

The Indian Premier League contributed upwards of Rs 3,000 crore in 2023 to sponsorship spends (including central, team and franchise), with the two new outfits Gujarat Titans (GT) and Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) playing their part in scaling up the competition to the current ten-team format with increased number of league games. 

2023 marked a significant milestone in the evolution of franchise sports in India with the Women’s Premier League (WPL) seeing its inaugural season being held. It was the first competition of its kind in the country for the ladies, and here again, cricket played the leadership role to perfection by ushering in the era of equal opportunity in a manner that is reflective of the new India. 

The five franchises combined to fetch BCCI a total revenue of Rs 4,669 crore as Franchise Fee. The highest bid came from Adani Group, for an amount of Rs 1,289 crore for Ahmedabad, followed by Reliance’s Mumbai Indians who secured the rights at an amount of Rs 912.99 crore. Like the commercial capital of India, the franchises for Bengaluru and Delhi also went to the owners of their corresponding IPL teams, viz. Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) and Delhi Capitals (DC), at Rs 901 crore and Rs 810 crore, respectively. For Lucknow, Capri Global came out victorious with a winning amount of Rs 757 crore. 

In terms of media rights, the WPL delivered Rs 951 crore to the BCCI. The Tata Group won the Title Sponsorship rights for the event for a period of five years. The other sponsors who contributed to the impressive debut season included Dream 11, Amul and Ceat.

In cricket’s biggest ODI spectacle, the World Cup that was held in India in October and November of 2023, brands from a wide range of industries played their part- the prominent sponsors included Mastercard, IndusInd and DP World who made their first move in an ICC event of this magnitude. 

The Asia Cup held earlier in the year had Super 11 Fantasy League as the Title Sponsor, while travel platform Ixigo and financial services brand Groww played the role of Co-Sponsors. The other brands that enabled the success of the event were Hettich, Volkswagen, Kamla Pasand, Amul, Royal Stag, Sansui, Dr. Fixit, and KFC. 

GroupM pointed out that the sponsorship behaviour of Indian brands, one that sweetens the total revenue, is the propensity to associate with foreign national teams in cricket. 

It stated, “Amul had sponsored Afghanistan, South Africa and Sri Lanka at the ODI World Cup.”

If we look beyond cricket, the emerging sports saw a marginal growth of 2% over 2022 in spite of good performances and representation by our athletes in many international competitions. 

A closer look at the numbers will reveal that there was one particular deal in 2022 that boosted the base figure, the association EdTech company Byju’s had with FIFA in the year of the Qatar World Cup – it was a sponsorship deal that was valued upwards of Rs 316 crore 2023 was the year of the Asian Games that was held in Hangzhou, China. A 655-member contingent had represented us at the competition across 40 different sports disciplines. It was a historic performance from the sporting nation, as we won a total of 107 medals in all (28 Gold, 38 Silver and 41 Bronze). As the games were held successfully, playing their roles to perfection were the Indian Olympic Association (IOA) sponsors – JSW Sports, Reliance Foundation, Adani, Dream Set Go, Amul, Borosil and Inox. 

The inclination among Indian businesses to seek value in collaborations with foreign teams can be seen in football too. The investment made by Apollo Tyres with Manchester United, a team with immense popularity in our country, and the deal between Tata Gluco Plus and the Argentine Football Association, both serve as illustrative examples in this regard, mentioned GroupM in the report. 

The Pro Kabaddi League, a franchise-based competition inspired by the IPL model, had a successful 2023-24 season. While the Central Sponsors were Dream 11, Roff, UltraTech Cements and Patanjali, it was a lovely sight to see all the 12 teams having marquee brands as principal sponsors. 

2023 was a great year for motorsports in the country, as the Moto GP Bharat was held successfully with Indian Oil providing the financial fuel in the role of the Title Sponsor. Formula E also marked its debut with Greenko playing the title role in Hyderabad. 

Marathons have been showing an uptrend in recent years with the culture of running gaining many miles, given the rising levels of fitness-consciousness in the country. All the major runs in India were held successfully and each one of them had significant economic and cultural impact on the host city. The Tata Group played a prominent part here as the Title Sponsor in three of these events- Mumbai Marathon (Tata and TCS), Kolkata 25K (Tata Steel) and Bangalore 10K (TCS). For the Delhi Half Marathon, the title rights were with Vedanta. 

At the Devil’s Circuit, the premier obstacle race that covers multiple cities, the Title Sponsor was Maruti, a brand that knows a thing or two about overcoming the challenges posed by Indian roads. 

Another sport that picked momentum after the Covid-related handicaps was Golf. The Men’s Indian Open made a successful return to the DLF Golf Course in 2023. The Women’s Indian Open was also among the events that hit the greens last year, in addition to 26 other competitions. In this sport, the major sponsors included Hero Moto Corp, Tata Steel, Rolex, Coca Cola and Ballentine’s. 

A discussion on sports in India cannot be deemed to be complete unless we cover hockey, a sport that saw us in a dominant position once. Since the Bronze medal win at the Tokyo Olympics, expectations from fans have been high and the men’s team has already qualified for the Paris games. In 2023, the FIH event and the Hockey World Cup were held successfully, and continuing the support for the sport were Hero Moto Corp, Dream 11, JSW and the Odisha Government. 

In tennis, the Maharashtra Open tournament, an ATP 250 event, was held successfully, while other franchise competitions that happened in the year were the Prime Volleyball League, Ultimate Table Tennis and Ultimate Kho Kho.