On the back of the success of private league format sports tournaments, the Pro Wrestling League hit Indian television screens on December 10 on the MSM network. Bringing it on is ProSportify, specializing in the business of sports, in association with the Wrestling Federation of India
By Simran Sabherwal
Close on the heels of cricket, soccer, kabaddi and badminton, the Pro Wrestling League (PWL) made its debut last week as a private sporting league on Indian television. Bringing wrestling to the small screen is ProSportify – a joint venture between Kartikeya Sharma, Managing Director of ITV Network & CMD, ProSportify and Vishal Gurnani, Director of Trilogic Digital Media Ltd & Director, ProSportify, in association with the Wrestling Federation of India. Commenting on the genesis of ProSportify, a company specializing in the business of sports, and PWL, Kartikeya Sharma, founder of PWL says, “We were mulling over this for the last couple of years and looking out for the right opportunity and right platforms. We were looking at non-cricketing properties which could be picked up, which had established stars and become popular on the ground with huge viewership that wanted to be engaged and associated with the sport.” He adds, “PWL is a major event towards the development of wrestling in India and we are thrilled to be organizing it. It is going to be a game-changer in the non-cricket leagues. It will be our endeavour to focus on the essence of the sport without any compromise and keep the culture and heritage of the sport alive. It is most definitely going to be the most watched sport other than cricket in India.”
Advertisers on Board
Media reports confirm that FMCG major Dabur has come on board as the main sponsor for PWL, though the deal amount is not known. What’s confirmed is that this initiative by ProSportify is powered by Thums Up in association with Jaquar lighting. The initiative is also supported by 92.7 BIG FM as a Radio Partner, Bright Outdoor Media Pvt. Ltd. as the Outdoor Partner, BookMyShow.com as the Ticket Partner and Piccadily - New Delhi as the Hospitality Partner.
Tying Up with MSM
Multi-Screen Media (MSM) has bagged the broadcast rights of the PWL for the next five years, as announced on November 16. Talking about the tie-up with MSM, Gurnani says, “ProSportify is delighted to have reached such a significant agreement with MSM and we are looking forward to working together to offer wrestling fans across India an extensive coverage of the tournament. MSM is an experienced partner in the broadcasting of major international sports events and their expertise will help this league gain the right platform in promoting the sport in India.” The short time span has meant that the network has been pressed for time to get things in place. Says Neeraj Vyas, senior EVP and Business Head, Sony Max, Sony Max2 and Sony Mix, “We are still in the midst of talking to advertisers as we haven’t really had the time. It is a slow burn right now because it has come a little late in the day for us and even for them. It is a process that will take some time but I don’t see a problem in getting more advertisers.” He adds, “We would have loved to have a little more time on this and do it up the way we normally do our IPL in terms of promotion, marketing but no effort will be spared in the time that we have.”
PWL will be telecast on three channels of the network – Sony Max, Six and Pal. Commenting on the choice of channels, Vyas says, “It is an interesting mix of channels. Max is the No. 1 channel in the network that reaches out to the maximum number of people. Pal, an FTA channel, is one of the key channels on DD Direct with around 75-80 GRPs week-on-week and caters to a huge segment of 18 to 20 million homes. Sony Six, which is our flagship sports channel, caters to a sports-loving audience which is also a fairly large mix of people. This is a fabulous mix of channels with a potential to reach out to a very large cross-section of people.” While Sony Max and Pal will air the Hindi feed to target the Hindi-speaking markets (HSM), Sony Six will air the English feed. Unlike IPL, there will be no special pre- or post-show programming and the league is being aired at prime time – from 7 pm to 9 pm every day - from December 10 to December 27.
A multi-media campaign ‘Khel Fauladi’ has also been launched by Sony Max for PWL. Created by DDB Mudra, the high decibel “tongue in cheek” campaign consists of two teasers and two promos and will be showcased across Television, Print, Radio and Outdoor promotions, and will be targeted particularly at HSM.
Looking Ahead
So far, ProSportify’s Sharma is pleased with the response and says, “Being a new company which has entered the stream for the first time, we are happy with the response. We have managed to do many things in a short time. It is a learning curve for us. Like we’ve done with our previous ventures, it is panning out very well and we are very happy with the progress.” As for plans for the future, Sharma says, “We are planning to get into more sporting properties. At the moment, this is the first product we are rolling out. So all our focus and emphasis is on Pro Wrestling League. Barring cricket, it has the potential to become the biggest league in the country. That is how we see it and are going about producing it. We are looking at a 20-camera chain set-up for television production, which is unheard of for something like wrestling. We are not leaving any stone unturned when it comes to making it one of the most premier talked about properties in sports in the country.”
The League
Touted as the richest wrestling event, PWL has six city-based franchisee teams – New Delhi, owned by the GMR Group, Bengaluru, owned by the JSW Group, Punjab, owned by CDR Group & actor Dharmendra Deol, Uttar Pradesh, owned by Lotus Greens, Haryana, owned by Olive Global and Mumbai, owned by Maverick Garducharya Industries & Mafatlal Industries, in the fray. Each team will consist of nine players – five Indians and four foreign and will also have five men and four women in the play. In the inaugural year, PWL will feature a total of 18 ties – 15 in the league phase, two semi-finals and the Grand Finale. It offers a prize purse of Rs 15 crore. Each tie will be contested on the ‘best of nine bouts’ format and all nine bouts will be contested in the League phase. The League will be played under the PWL Rules, based on Olympic rules, in conjunction with Wrestling Federation of India rules.
Feedback: simran.sabherwal@exchange4media.com
