Corporate interest grows as Kho Kho gets an Indian Premier League touch

Capri Global and KLO Sports have joined Adani and GMR to pick up franchises in league

Kho kho, India’s very own sport and much-loved too, is drawing the attention of large companies as it readies to be presented in an Indian Premier League-style format to viewers.

The Amit-Burman-promoted Ultimate Kho Kho League, which will launch later this year, will now see non-banking financial services company Capri Global and Hyderabad-based KLO Sports pick up a franchise each.

The development comes right after Adani Sportsline, a part of Adani Group, and GMR Spo­rts acquired a team each in the six-team league.

While Capri Global, Adani, and GMR are investors in cricket — the three recently picked up teams in the UAE T20 league — KLO Sports has acquired a sports franchise for the first time. It has picked up the Chennai kho kho franchise, naming it Chennai Super Guns.

Capri Global has bought the Rajasthan franchise while Adani and GMR had acquired the Gujarat and Telangana teams.

“Kho kho is a sport that everyone has played in their childhood. It has a deep connect with the masses. Like kabaddi, kho kho is a fast-paced game. There is constant movement and pace that keeps fans engaged. This got us excited, apart from it being an indigenous sport, which we wanted to give a modern avatar,” Sanjay Jupudi, co-owner of KLO Sports, said about his choice of sport for investment. Jupudi is best-known as president and founder of US-based software services company Qentelli, which has operations in India and Canada as well.

To bring a modern touch to kho kho, Jupudi plans to introduce his team to the metaverse. “We will have augmented reality and virtual reality-style clips of the game to increase fan engagement. There will also be a lot of digital marketing to promote the sport and the team to the current generation, which is tech-savvy,” he said.

Rajesh Sharma, managing director, Capri Global, said he wanted to invest in an ecosystem that promoted indigenous sports.

“Kho kho is a home-grown sport. There are local units in multiple states and districts. It has an easy-to-play format and is followed by many people across the country. We wanted to invest in a tournament that promotes sports such as kho kho. We have taken a step in that direction by investing in the Kho Kho League. Our plan would be to nurture the sport through our investment in the Rajasthan team,” Sharma said.

The need to nurture kho kho stems from a simple statistic: 70-75 per cent of sports sponsorship in India goes to cricket, according to a joint report by the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry and Sporjo, a sports agency, released in December. It notes that India’s sports media and sponsorship industry touched nearly Rs 9,500 crore in 2019-20 (FY20) and would reach Rs 15,000 crore by FY24.

The recently concluded IPL e-auction reinfor­ces this notion, with the value of the media rights (at Rs 48,390 crore for 2023-27) crossing the previous rights value (Rs 16,347.50 crore for 2018-22) by nearly three times.

Kho kho league ready to take off

• Dabur India Chairman Amit Burman conceptualised Ultimate Kho Kho in 2019, investing ~200 crore over five years
• First edition of the league to be launched later this year
• Number of teams: 6; franchises bought: 4
• Capri Global has now bought the Rajasthan franchise, and KLO Sports has bought Chennai
• Adani Sportsline earlier bought Gujarat, while GMR Sports bought Telangana
• Sony Pictures Networks India is official broadcast partner for both TV and digital

Despite the challenges, non-cricket sporting leagues have gained ground in the past few years, with the formation of leagues in kabaddi, wrestling, badminton, and football. Kho kho is the latest entrant to that list. The Ultimate Kho Kho League, promoted by Dabur India Chairman Burman, is happening in collaboration with the Kho Kho Federation of India.

It aims to revolutionise kho kho with a professional format and structure, with Burman, who conceptualised the idea in 2019, investing Rs 200 crore over five years.

Sony Pictures Networks India (SPNI) has been roped in as the official broadcast partner for both the television and digital audiences. Reliance Group-backed Rise Worldwide, an independent sports, lifestyle and entertainment company, was inducted earlier this year as the league consultant and partner in broadcast production.

“We are thrilled to welcome KLO Sports and Capri Global to the league’s roster,” said Tenzing Niyogi, chief executive, Ultimate Kho Kho.

“We are committed to bringing in a modern-day professional structure to kho kho that will not only take it to the next level but also create a spectacle for fans,” he said.

Globally, indigenous sports have enjoyed a high level of viewership in the countries they are played. Like the National Football League (NFL), which is a professional league for American football. It is followed by 52 per cent Americans compared to 42 per cent for the National Basketball League (NBA) and 31 per cent for the Major League Baseball, according to a study by data provider Statista, released in February.