Female viewership of IPL grew by 24%, kids by 20%: Sanjog Gupta, Star Sports

The head of Star Sports talks about the 2021 calendar, the marketing challenges, among other things.

In October 2016, the Indian cricket team was playing the final one-day match of the bilateral series against New Zealand in Visakhapatnam (Vizag). When the 'Men in Blue'stepped on to the field, they had the names of their mothers on the back of their shirts, instead of their own.

The initiative was a part of Star India's 'Nayi Soch' campaign. The broadcaster was the Indian team's kit sponsor back then, and it had rolled out the campaign in association with the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI).

The campaign was widely discussed. It also became clear that Star India, which is now known as Star and Disney India, was gunning for the viewers who don't watch cricket regularly, especially the female audiences.

Star Sports has made many changes to its programming line-up. The number of female commentators and presenters has increased manifold. The sportscaster bought the global media rights to broadcast the Indian Premier League (IPL) for five years for a mammoth Rs 16,348 crore.

The 10-year-old tournament was already a giant brand, but Sanjog Gupta, head, Star Sports, made it clear that the tournament can grow further. "If you aren't growing, you are dead," he says.

The viewership grew. 2019 was better than 2018, and 2020 was the best one till date. Star Sports has just announced its 2021 calendar, which is packed. Currently, it is broadcasting India versus England bilateral series. IPL is likely to follow. Then there is the World Test Championship, Asia Cup, ICC Men's T20 World Cup, etc.

Apart from cricket, there is English Premier League (football), F1, and French Open, US Open, and Wimbledon (tennis tournaments).

In an exclusive interview with afaqs!, Gupta speaks about the 2021 calendar, the marketing challenges, among other things.

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