Management And Regulation Of Professional Sports Leagues

Cricket has always been a dominant force in the sports market. However, over the last few years, India has embraced other sports with great excitement and passion. Following the success of the Indian Premier Leagues, various other sports federations in association with private organizations have embraced the cultural shift and have contributed to the rise of league-based tournaments. Apart from the IPL, several other leagues such as the Indian Super League (ISL), Pro Kabbadi League (PKL), Indian Badminton League (IBL) and the Hockey India League (HIL) were launched during the period of 2013-2015. Although it must be noted that not all leagues were able to generate the buzz that the IPL was able to generate. Some of these leagues were not able to generate sufficient viewership, sponsors as well as broadcasters. Leagues such as the PKL and the ISL were huge successes and generated total viewership of 435 million and 429 million respectively in their first seasons. These numbers are almost as good as the IPL’s during its first season. The viewership of the ISL and PKL also continued to grow in subsequent seasons; in 2015 the numbers grew by 20 percent and 26 percent respectively.

One of the most important factors for the revenue for a team in a league is the broadcasters fees. Teams generate more than half of the revenue from the share of broadcasting and the sponsorship income received from the BCCI. In most cases, the share of the broadcasting rights usually increases with the renewal of the broadcasting rights of each term. For instance, the first Sponsorship Deal of the IPL was signed with the Delhi real-estate company DLF for around $17 million for a period of 4 years. Now, 8 years later, the latest IPL sponsorship deal was signed with Vivo for a mammoth $184 million over four years—an increase of 982 %. The concept of sports broadcasting has completely changed over the last few years. Broadcasters are now hungry for fresh content and are willing to invest in various leagues. Broadcasters are going in about increasing their portfolio.

Nowadays, cricket is not the only sport that is generating huge amounts of sponsorship money. There was a mammoth rise in the on-ground sponsorship in The Pro Kabbadi League. The league saw a 300 percent rise in 2015, generating revenue close to INR45 crores for its broadcasters and investors. Apart from Kabbadi, The Indian Super League (ISL) also saw a 91.6 percent rise and was able to double their sponsorship revenue from its first season, earning approximately INR 100 crore. Not only has there been a massive increase in revenues but also these leagues have acted as a great stepping stone for the talented sportsperson who were largely going unnoticed before the advent of such leagues. They are now able to earn a decent amount of monies as well and therefore are acting as an encouragement for the future generations.

The two most important elements in modern society are the sport and the media. They might seem independent of each other but are completely correlated and function best when they work together. Sports not only play an important role in our entertainment but also have a deep impact on the socialization aspect as well. The growth of sports leagues over the last few years can be attributed to the widespread availability of media in every household. Media has also bridged the gap between developed and developing nations. Power and wealth are the main factors that influence media coverage. There have been various benefits of the extensive media coverage of sports. They have not only enabled sports teams and the leagues to earn extensive revenues and make profits but have also paved the way through for future generations. The media coverage has brought in the greater salaries for the players and has hence created a positive growth circle with greater livelihood possibilities.

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India’s growing interests in other sports can be highlighted by the stupendous viewership rating achieved in the country during the Rio Olympics despite it being telecasted at odd hours. According to data provided by Broadcast Audience Research Council (BARC) India, the opening ceremony got 0.5 million impressions across all the nine channels (including Doordarshan and eight-channel bouquet from the Star India network). Also, according to Zapr, an analytics company, 5.6 million viewers in India tuned in live for the ceremony and 6.1 million watched its repeat telecast later in the day. The viewership numbers were at an all-time high whenever Indian athletes were competing. India’s first field hockey match recorded 14.4 million viewers and 15.4 million viewers just an hour later when Indian tennis stars Leander Paes, Rohan Bopanna, and Sania Mirza played their initial matches.

It would not be wrong to state that in the twenty-first century, the media and sports are dominating our lives. Whenever these two combined, they form a very powerful mixture. Without the commercial aspects of sports such as the broadcasting rights and spectator revenues, most of the leagues and sporting events would not be able to see the light of the day. This growing interaction between media, sports and law has created a new evolution in the sporting and legal culture of the county and there is an urgent need to better understand how the law related to the sporting world.

There have been various scandals and controversies that have been faced by the sporting world in the last few years. Some instances of these scandals are the IPL match-fixing scandal, Commonwealth Games Scam and the Sexual Harassment faced by the Women’s Hockey Team. From the glorious days of being world champions and winging six gold medals in a row, the Indian Men’s Hockey Team failed to qualify for the 2008 Olympics, hitting an all time low. This particular failure highlighted the maladministration and widespread corruption in our sporting system. Funds that are originally allocated for the development and management of the sport, failed to actually reach the athletes and were misappropriated by the sports federations

Currently there is a complete absence of any national or state laws exclusively governing and managing the Professional Sports Leagues In India. The Government of India had set up The Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports to build and develop the sporting infrastructure and also to improve the infrastructure of broadcasting. The primary objective of setting up the ministry was to improve the standards of various sports in the country. Apart from The Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports, the other legislations/authorities regulating sports and leagues in India are as follows: -

• a) National Sports Policy, 1984/2001: The National Sports Policy was enacted with prime focus of raising the quality of sports which was badly suffering due to widespread corruption, gambling etc. The Policy was initially introduced in 1984. However later it was felt that The Sports Policy was quiet on various issues and that it was incomplete. Therefore it was felt that there was a need to restructure the bill. As a result, in 2001, The Government passed the National Sports Policy Bill 2001 with the objective to achieve excellence in sport at national and international level
• b) Sports Law and Welfare Association of India: The primary objective of the Sports Law and Welfare Association of India is to promote the ethical advancement of sports law in India. This association is a non-profit organization and provides various services such as advice and consultancy in matters such as Doping, Health and Safety, Intellectual Property Rights etc. It also provides a platform for legal practitioners who represent different people, to set up rules for ethics for sports persons.
• c) Sports Authority of India: The Sports Authority of India (SAI) is primary National Sports Body in India. The SAI came into existence in the year 1984 after it was set up by the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports with the primary objective of spreading awareness about sports and bringing excellence in national and international events.
• d) The Sports Broadcasting Signals (Mandatory Sharing with Prasar Bharati) Act: The Prasarn Bharti Act came into existence in the year 2007. The reason behind this act was to encourage greater viewership among the people and to promote the sport. This act covers all the sports that are telecasted in the country, which are of national importance. The act lays that the broadcasters of the sports have to mandatorily share the broadcasting signals with Prasar Bharati. The Act lays that the broadcasting company may carry out the live telecast of the events but in order to do that it has to share its live broadcasting signal simultaneously with the Prasar Bharati.
• e) National Sports Federation: The National Sports federations are the apex body governing the functioning of the particular sport in the country. They are responsible with the complete management and regulation of the sport. They may issue directions and guidelines for the promotion, development and supervision of the sport. They responsibility to manage the sponsorship and regulation of broadcasting is on the national federations. They are expected to discharge these responsibilities in consonance with the principles laid down in the Olympic Charter or the Charter of the Indian Olympic Association in compliance with Government guidelines applicable to NSFs.
• f) National Anti-Doping Agency: The National Anti Doping Agency is an autonomous body set up by the Government of India. The roster of the National Anti Doping Agency consists of scientist, members of IOA and person from government and non-government agencies. The primary objective of the NADA is regulate the illegal intake of dope or performance enhancing supplements by the athletes. The NADA has to make sure that sports federations are following the rules laid down up the World Anti Doping Agency (WADA). NADA conducts in and out competition testing to make sure that no doping is taking place.