Mumbai: GroupM’s ‘This Year Next Year’ 2022’ which also highlights the upcoming trends in the branding and advertising sector stated that 2022 is expected to create history in the Indian sports media rights landscape.
The upcoming media rights auction for the cricket Indian Premier League. The bids for IPL followed by ICC and BCCI home series are set to create a boom in the sports business in India. Improved mobile internet infrastructure and increased consumption of OTT platforms has made this sector extremely competitive and hence also in the driver’s seat for these media rights.
Today live sports remain unique and most sought after considering its promise of appointment viewing and sustained audience interest. This has also caught the attention of the global private equity players and you can now see the PE money coming into the world of sports in India.
“We have seen PEs investing in sporting teams, sports leagues and fan engagement initiatives and sports content. This is just the beginning, and we should watch this space very closely,” the report stated.
The last 2 years have seen a massive scale-up in the world of gaming. Going forward gaming and esports will see increased investment and physical events will add flavor and excitement to viewer experience and overall product offering
“This year esports debuts in the Asian Games, we will have our own India contingent competing at the international level which will keep the audience interest alive and adding to the current base,” the report said.
What started in 2021 will continue taking shape in 2022 as well. The world speaks about NFTs, fan tokens and digital collectables passionately. Platforms and rights creators will continue testing different ownership models to determine the optimal balance of fuelling consumer demand and maintaining intellectual rights. There will be a lot of molding and remolding but it is only going to make it exciting for brands and open newer avenues for consumer engagement.