Changing Indian Sporting Standards in 2020

Before delving into the impact of COVID-19 on sports' businesses, it's important that we understand what constitutes the business of sports. There are three primary revenue sources for a live sports event: (i) broadcasting revenue; (ii) advertising and sponsorship revenue; and (iii) match day revenue i.e. ticket sales. These three revenue sources for the sports industry dried out since no live events happened. Thanks to the imposed lockdown and restrictions. Further, the sports business entails not just the live events which are televised and broadcast, but also all the companies associated or hooked into the occurrence of such live events. The associated businesses include the assembly of live events, stadium rentals, hospitality, fantasy sports and betting, merchandise and sports equipment, etc., all of which have suffered huge losses. Several companies believe in sponsoring the events to return into the limelight and boost their sales. Individuals, who work largely on per event/ match basis, like umpires and other support staff, athletes with no sponsors/ regular source of income, have also been severely impacted.

One of the main consequences of the spread of the coronavirus has been the cancellation or postponement of major sports events that were scheduled to be held in 2020, including the Olympics 2020 (Japan), the men's T20 Cricket World Cup 2020 (Australia), the Euro 2020, etc. (which are postponed) while other events like the 2020 Wimbledon Tennis Championships, the Boston Marathon were canceled. the primary effects of the pandemic were felt within the sporting world with various leagues like the NBA, the Premier League, etc. being suspended indefinitely. In India, as well, the finals of the Indian Super League (ISL) (the top division football league) were played behind closed doors on March 14, 2020.

By: Raghav Saxena

Birla School, Pilani