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What's the story?
The Indian Super League is set for a huge boost financially, as the season 4 of the tournament is expected to generate a sum of Rs 400 crores in sponsorship and advertising revenue, as per reports.
In case you didn't know...
The ISL will be a 5-month long affair instead of the previous format of three months, which for the past three seasons. Also, the league has been expanded to 10 teams - with Jamshedpur FC and Bengaluru FC being the newest additions to the big-money league.
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The heart of the matter
The advertising, sponsorship and gate receipts revenue for the ISL Season 4 will see a jump of a massive 25% from last year signifying the profitability for the parties involved. The viewership slots for all the 95 matches have been kept at the prime time, thus further increasing the reach for sponsors and advertisers.
According to sources from the league management, the league is on a promising trajectory with better reach and opportunities.
The 10 teams of the ISL are on the course for ad revenue in the range of 6-10 crores. Star Sports, the official broadcaster of the ISL in India has started selling ads at 2.5lakhs per 10-second slot. These rates initially did not find many takers but as a whole, the franchises are on the right course for the Rs 400 crores mark.
The major sponsors of the league - Hero Motocorp, Maruti Suzuki and DHL have all renewed their deals for three years ahead. These deals further reflect on the promise of the league in the future years to come.
The crowd response to the ISL has also been an encouraging one with 1.28 million people attending the 61 matches the ISL Season 3 that ran from October to December 2016. But, the advertisers are looking beyond the numbers and going in for the buzz surrounding the sport since the success of the FIFA U17 World Cup.
Star India wants to capitalise on the game's entire potential and bank on the urban as well as the rural populace of India to further the rise of football in India.
What's next?
The ISL season kicks off today, with last season's champions ATK taking on Kerala Blasters FC at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium in Kochi.
Author's take
The rise in revenue for the upcoming season is a highly positive for football enthusiasts across the country as the profitability of the league will further entice more funding into the game, thus keeping India on the right track for the rise as a footballing nation.
