Tanushree Basuroy
Research expert covering India
Sports viewership in India - statistics & facts
2024 is poised to be a lucrative year for sports broadcasters in India with quite the lineup of widely anticipated sporting events. From the 17th season of the Indian Premier League (IPL), the T20 ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup, to the Olympics in Paris, sports fans in India have devotedly cheered on their favorite sports stars and athletes from the stands and on screen. Sports consumption in India has come a long way from tuning into radio broadcasts, to watching television, and now digitally streaming live sports.
Reliance Industries Limited has been on an acquisition spree, laying claim not only to major media houses in the country but also outbidding rivals such as Disney Star India for the media rights of major sporting events. The Indian conglomerate won both the television and digital broadcast rights of the 2023-2028 cycle of the IPL as well as the national men’s cricket team’s bilateral matches. The media behemoth’s recently announced merger with Disney Star India in early 2024 marks the monopolization of the Indian media and entertainment market.
Cricket’s hold over sports viewing in India
First introduced as a “gentleman’s game” by the British in pre-independent India, cricket has become the country’s most popular sport outshining even hockey, India’s national sport. The near-religious fervor harbored by Indian fans resulted in sports investors and broadcasters laying more emphasis on cricket than other sports. Indian audiences have a wide array of cricketing events and sports channels to choose from all year round, with the IPL being one the most watched, apart from other international tournaments. Following the IPL’s successful format, other sports leagues such as the Indian Super League and the Pro Kabaddi League have grown popular among Indian spectators.Reliance moves to seize control of the sports broadcasting market
Sports constituted one of the leading television genres in India. Major broadcasters such as Sony and Disney Star India have long been in the sports business. Of the latter’s dedicated sports network hosting over 10 sports channels in HD and SD across various Indian languages, Star Sports 1 Hindi was the most watched television channel nationwide. The diversification of the sports broadcasting business from linear TV to digital platforms has given rise to a new contender – Reliance.Reliance Industries Limited has been on an acquisition spree, laying claim not only to major media houses in the country but also outbidding rivals such as Disney Star India for the media rights of major sporting events. The Indian conglomerate won both the television and digital broadcast rights of the 2023-2028 cycle of the IPL as well as the national men’s cricket team’s bilateral matches. The media behemoth’s recently announced merger with Disney Star India in early 2024 marks the monopolization of the Indian media and entertainment market.
India at the Olympics
Incidentally, Viacom18, the Reliance-owned media company was also proclaimed the sole broadcaster of the 2024 Paris Olympics in India. Experts forecasted a viewership of over 100 million each on Sports18 and JioCinema, the broadcaster’s sports channel and streaming platform respectively. The digital platform alone covered the multi-sport event across 23 live feeds in English and other Indian languages. The 2024 Olympic games were anticipated to be one of the most widely watched Summer Olympics, with a rising interest among Indian audiences. So far India has bagged three bronze medals for shooting at 2024 games, with professional shooter Manu Bhaker making history as the first Indian woman to win a medal in the sport.
