PKL clocks higher time spent than reality shows, giving brands a festive edge: Siddharth Sharma

New Delhi: As the Pro Kabaddi League (PKL) gears up for its 12th season beginning August 29, 2025, in Visakhapatnam, the timing could not be more strategic. The tournament lands squarely in the festive season, a period when most content companies traditionally ride on reality shows to capture audiences.

Siddharth Sharma, Head, Audience Engagement, Viewership and Monetisation Initiative at JioStar, highlighted that PKL not only matches but often surpasses reality formats on engagement. “PKL has consistently delivered 32 to 38% higher attention scores than even the top reality formats,” he told BestMediaInfo.com.

“PKL has always been about deep engagement. Viewers are not just watching, they are involved in every raid, every tackle and every moment of the game. For advertisers, this is a big advantage, especially in a festive season where every brand is competing for attention,” Sharma added.

JioStar has confirmed four sponsors for Season 12, including Shriram Finance Limited (BFSI), UltraTech Cement (infrastructure), Birla Tilestix (tile adhesives) and Red Bull (energy drinks).

With the last season claiming 283 million views across TV and digital platforms, PKL clocked an average of 64% of game time per match during Season 11.

The league has also opened newer opportunities for brand integration across high-intensity moments such as Super Raids, Super Tackles, Do-or-Die raids and the Coach’s Corner. Season 12 will debut innovations like Dugout Cam, Ref Cam and split-screen revival sequences, giving brands more organic ways to enter the live action. Special properties like Rivalry Week and Revenge Week are also being created to allow advertisers to ride the emotion of big-ticket clashes.

The league’s biggest draw has been its resonance with younger audiences. “Something happens every 30 seconds, which makes kabaddi especially appealing to Gen Z. PKL’s audience skews younger than even cricket, which shows how strongly this demographic connects with the sport,” Sharma said. He added that this connection is expected to deepen further in Season 12.

Women have also been central to PKL’s growth since its early years. Sharma pointed out that the engagement index for women is higher than for the IPL.

For Season 12, JioStar is extending distribution with more than 10 television channels and seven language feeds on JioHotstar. The league is expanding with new feeds in Bhojpuri and Haryanvi. Coverage will feature a wide range of experts and voices, including Bhojpuri star Ravi Kishan, former Telugu Titans coach Srinivas Reddy, Bengal Warriorz champion K. Prapanjan, U-Mumba stalwarts Mohit Chhillar and Vishal Mane, former India captain Mamatha Poojary, and former raider Rishank Devadiga.

Season 12 will also feature commentary and storytelling from Ravi Kishan, Sunil Taneja, Vrajesh Hirjee, Padamjeet Sehrawat, NC Kaushik, Chaitanya Sant and others. “The promise of Season 12 is thrill and intensity, qualities that resonate strongly with both Gen Z and women,” Sharma said.

Reflecting on PKL’s journey, Sharma said, “The first phase was proving kabaddi belonged in prime time. Then came the stage of creating heroes like Pardeep Narwal, Naveen Kumar and Arjun Deshwal. The next step was scale and accessibility, with regional teams, multiple languages and strong digital presence making kabaddi a cross-platform product.”

Now, with feeds in eight languages, immersive features such as Ref Cam and Dugout Views, and a new play-in playoff format, Sharma believes PKL is entering its next chapter. “From almost no digital footprint in 2014 to millions streaming live today, kabaddi has grown without losing its authenticity. We have only amplified the sport, not changed its soul.”

Sharma credited Star Sports with playing a defining role in shaping PKL. From the outset, the broadcaster treated kabaddi as a marquee property with prime-time slots, world-class production, multi-language commentary and campaigns that placed it alongside cricket. This helped reposition kabaddi from a local sport to a polished global spectacle.

The network’s investments also created heroes out of players, built loyal fan bases for teams and proved to advertisers that kabaddi could deliver strong returns. Beyond the league, initiatives such as KBD Juniors, Kabaddi Masters Dubai, the Kabaddi World Cup and Melbourne Raid expanded the sport’s reach. “Star Sports proved India is not a one-sport nation. Fans now have properties beyond cricket, which creates more opportunities for advertisers too,” Sharma said.

This year, PKL will be available in eight languages, with Bhojpuri and Haryanvi making their debut. Ravi Kishan will headline the Bhojpuri coverage, while Mohit Chhillar anchors the Haryanvi feed. English, Hindi, Tamil, Telugu, Kannada and Marathi will continue across JioHotstar (mobile and connected TV) and Star Sports channels.

Season 12 will also bring changes to the competition structure. All matches will produce a result, with tiebreakers resolving drawn games, including during the league stage. A new play-in phase has been added between the league and playoffs: the top two teams will qualify directly, the 3rd and 4th placed sides will compete in a mini-qualifier, and teams ranked 5th to 8th will contest the play-in round.

The opening fixture on August 29 will feature a southern derby between Telugu Titans and Tamil Thalaivas.