India is undoubtedly a nation that loves its sports, especially cricket. During the big sporting events such as ICC tournaments, FIFA World Cup, Champions League, and the Olympics, media goes all in to provide the coverage. But, when it comes to monetizing sports content online, India lags significantly behind other countries such as the USA, UK, Australia or any other big sporting countries. The biggest reason could be that India has so far failed to position itself as a sports powerhouse in sports other than cricket.
India’s Over-dependence On Cricket
Cricket is the unequivocal heartbeat of Indian sports culture. It is India’s favorite past time. And why not, this sport has produced some of the most iconic figures, from Kapil Dev and Sunil Gavaskar to Sachin Tendulkar and Virat Kohli. But, cricket’s overwhelming popularity is also one of the primary reasons for the diversification in the Indian sports ecosystem.
A country with a strong sports culture often embraces more than one sports, with potential in all sports. But with India, it’s more or less all about cricket – a sport that is played in only a handful of countries—India, Pakistan, Australia, England, South Africa, and the West Indies. But other than the sub-continent, even in many of these nations, cricket isn’t even the most popular sport. For example, in England and South Africa, football enjoys a significantly larger fan base. And in Australia, it’s “Australian rules football”.
As cricket hogs most of the limelight, it’s obvious that most of the sports content is around it. But with the limited global appeal of cricket, the content gets little views from nations other than the likes of India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and a few others. This also limits the potential for global partnerships and advertising revenue.
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Absence of Global Superstars in Non-Cricket Sports
One of the biggest reasons why India’s sports content is not as widespread as other nations is the lack of success in global sports such as Football, Lawn Tennis and Basketball. While cricket has long dominated the sports scene, the absence of a true global superstar like Lionel Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo, LeBron James or Novak Djokovic, have significantly hampered India’s reach when it comes to content.
It should not come as a surprise to many but once Maria Sharapova, former women world no-1 tennis player, was asked about Sachin Tendulkar and she didn’t know anything about the Little Master. Another incident was when Luis Figo, former Real Madrid superstar, couldn’t recognize Sachin Tendulkar.
Brazil an Real Madrid football legend Ronaldo also didn’t recognize Virat Kohli, who is by far the most followed Indian player across all social media platforms. This is so obvious that cricket doesn’t have reach as wide as other sports.
Unless India continuously produce athletes in other sports such as Football, Basketball or Lawn tennis, or in any global sport, it’s reputation of being a one-sport nation won’t change.
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Limited success in Global Sports
Another critical factor is India’s limited success in global sports. For example, India’s football team has never qualified to the FIFA World Cup and more often than not, remains outside the top-100 ranked team in the world. That means, the content around Indian football remains virtually invisible on the global stage.
Another sport is Lawn tennis. Despite having a few notable players like Leander Paes, Mahesh Bhupathi, and Sania Mirza, the nation still lacks consistent performers in singles events, which get the most attention on the global media platforms. Similarly, basketball remains more of a school and college sport, with limited grassroots development and professional opportunities.
This lack of success in global sports has a direct impact on the monetization potential of sports content. Because successful teams and players generate more excitement, earning loyal fan bases. Without consistent success in these sports, Indian content creators struggle to attract both domestic and international audiences.
Language Barrier and Regional Content
India’s diverse population also presents a unique challenge. There are more than 1650 languages in India, which makes it difficult to create universally appealing sports content. While cricket enjoys a pan-India following, other sports are often limited to specific regions. For example, football has a strong presence in states like West Bengal, Kerala, and Goa, whereas kabaddi is more popular in rural areas. So content written around these sports will always have a limited fan interest and that then affect the monetization in a negative way, with only regional brands showing interest.
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Lack of True Fan Culture
Monetizing sports content depends on various factors such as high-quality broadcasting, and active fan engagement on social media platforms. While India has made huge improvements in its sports ecosystem with the introduction of leagues such as the Indian Super League (ISL) for football and the Pro Kabaddi League (PKL), fans engagement around these leagues pale in comparison to the Indian Premier League (IPL) and other global leagues such as the English Premier League (EPL) or the NBA.
Advertising and Sponsorship Challenges
Just like in other countries, India’s online sports content heavily relies on advertising and sponsorship for revenue. But advertisers often prefer to invest in sports with established fan bases and sadly, that’s not the case for non-cricket sports. Cricket dominates this space in India, leaving little room for other sports to secure substantial sponsorship deals.
How to tackle the challenges of monetizing Indian sports content online
While the challenges are big, there are several strategies that can help in monetizing Indian sports content online:
- Focus On Other Sports: There can only be so much content India’s population can consume around cricket. There remains a huge potential in content other than cricket. Leagues such as ISL and PKL gain significant traction during their matches.
- Leveraging Digital Platforms: India’s sports content creators should understand the real power of social media. The rise of digital platforms offers an opportunity to help attract a broader audience.
- Collaboration with Global Entities: India’s sports content creators should seek partnerships with international leagues, teams, and athletes. This can help Indian sports content gain visibility and credibility on the global stage.
- Enhancing Fan Engagement: Keeping fans engaged, even during off-season, should be one of the main aims for sports content creators. It can be done through content on social media platforms, through fan-centric podcasts.
Conclusion
Monetizing Indian sports content online is undoubtedly a challenge, but it also has potential. The key lies in developing other sports which can bring the diversification into the Indian sports ecosystem. Imagine a scenario when an Indian football player is playing for a club like Liverpool, Real Madrid, Barcelona or Bayern Munich, the potential for sports content creators would be huge in that case. They would attract interest from all around the world.
For now, the journey is long, but with strategic planning and collective effort, Indian sports can achieve the global recognition it deserves.