The Indian sports industry grew 49 per cent in 2022, with revenue crossing more than ₹14,000 crore. Last year, the total revenue of the sports industry was around ₹9,530 crore. Media spending for the Indian sports industry also grew 26 per cent in 2022 to ₹7,553 crore, from the ₹6,018 crore reported in the previous year. 

Cricket continues to have a mammoth’s share in sporting revenues. 85 per cent of the overall revenue comes from cricket and 15 per cent from emerging sports such as kabaddi and football. However, emerging sports grew at a faster pace than cricket in 2022 — at about 87 per cent growth rate in revenues — versus cricket which grew 44 per cent. 

This data comes from the Spoting Nation Report authored by GroupM. The report also highlighted the significant growth of sports sponsorship in India, with spends on-ground, team, and franchise rising by ₹3,021 crore, a 105 per cent growth from 2021, making the total sponsorship spends at ₹5,907 crore. 

“The overall increase in spends was due to the rise in the number of IPL matches, the addition of two new IPL teams, the ICC T20 World Cup, Asia Cup, FIFA World Cup, and the return of emerging sports events and tournaments like PKL, marquee marathons, Maharashtra Open, and Commonwealth Games 2022. Indian women athletes and women cricketers saw a phenomenal rise, with the Indian women’s cricketers making a name for themselves on the international stage,” the report added. 

Vinit Karnik, Head - Sports, Esports and Entertainment, GroupM South Asia, added that the two big international racing events, Formula E & Moto GP, which will be held in India for the first time in 2023; the renewal of IPL Sponsorships post the 2023 season; BCCI Home Series Title & Central Sponsorship along with team India sponsorship; BCCI Home Series Media Rights, and the inaugural season of WPL in March 2023 will all aid in bolstering revenues significantly in 2023 as well. Karnik also told businessline that emerging sports will continue grow at a fast pace and could contribute to a larger proportion of overall revenue for the sports industry in the subsequent years. 

The growth of cricket sponsorship can be attributed to several reasons, including the Indian cricket team playing almost the double number of matches, as compared to 2021. The Indian Premier League (IPL) contributed the major revenue by adding two new franchises – Gujarat Titans and Lucknow Super Giants, and a full house of central sponsorship. 

Karnik also estimates that the first edition of the Women’s IPL (Women’s Premier League) has already made 200-250 crore of revenues. 

Prasanth Kumar, CEO - GroupM South Asia, said: “The Indian sports ecosystem is experiencing a revolutionary transformation, with athletes becoming influential role models for the youth and sports sponsorships gathering immense momentum. In this scenario, brands hold tremendous potential to tap into the passion and loyalty of Indian sports fans. Despite facing unprecedented pandemic challenges, the exceptional performance of the sports industry in 2022 reflects its resilience and unwavering commitment. As we move forward, technology will play an increasingly pivotal role in content management and fan engagement, while opening new and exciting opportunities in sports. Live sports will continue to be highly coveted as monetizable properties, making it a promising sector for investment.”