Indian Super League: Celebrities give star value, get promise of a great valuation
What attracts iconic cricketers such as Sachin Tendulkar and Sourav Ganguly and film stars such as Salman Khan and Ranbir Kapoor to football, John Abraham to hockey or Abhishek Bachchan to kabaddi?
It is the excitement of owning a team, an opportunity to be in the limelight and also the promise of a great valuation if the sporting league and the team they are investing in makes it big.
These celebs help in attracting the audience, media and sponsor interest for sports that have been under the shadow of cricket in India for many years. But there are several other benefits of owning a sports team that draws celebs.
"It's privilege, visibility and bragging rights as owners of sports teams. And eventually all of this coupled with their ability to pull in eyeballs and followers is what makes valuations soar," says Charu Sharma, who is the co-promoter of Mashal Sports, which has launched the Pro Kabaddi League.
Brand expert Santosh Desai says these celebrities and sports persons want to associate with sports also because they want to be in the limelight. "Your currency as a celebrity gets encashed. If you look closely, most businesses that they get into tend to be in areas which are more visible, public facing and potentially attention generating," he says.
After the success of the Indian Premier League (IPL), several new leagues have been launched in other sports — badminton, hockey, kabaddi —that do not enjoy the same popularity levels as cricket. What's encouraging though is that several celebrities have got associated with them.
Last week, Bollywood actor Abhishek Bachchan bought the Jaipur franchise in the Pro Kabbadi League. Another actor John Abraham picked up a stake in the Indian Hockey League team Delhi Waveriders last year. On Sunday, IMGReliance announced the names of eight team owners for its new football tournament Indian Super League (ISL) that included five celebrities — Sachin Tendulkar, Sourav Ganguly, Ranbir Kapoor, Salman Khan and John Abraham.
The trend had begun with the IPL when Shah Rukh Khan, Preity Zinta, Juhi Chawla and Shilpa Shetty became part owners of franchises.
While most IPL teams are not making serious money even though the league is in its seventh year, valuations have risen for both the league and teams. IPL's brand value grew 4%, from $2.92 billion in 2012 to $3.03 billion in 2013, according to consulting firm Brand Finance.
Amrit Mathur, former CEO of IPL team Delhi Daredevils, says celebrities usually help promote the team, generate media interest and create a buzz. "Their profile also helps sell tickets, get sponsors," he says.
Globally, several sportspersons and other celebrities have bought into sports teams; basketball legend Magic Johnson owns a small part of baseball team Los Angeles Dodgers, Justin Timberlake is a minority owner of Memphis Grizzlies basketball team. Actor Russell Crowe is the owner of Australian rugby team South Sydney Rabbitohs, Will Smith and wife Jada Pinkett Smith are minority owners of the basketball team Philadelphia 76ers.
"Celebs also help fence sitters to get converted," says Sharma. In the ISL, for instance, Salman Khan's fans are likely to root for his team, and Tendulkar and Ganguly's cricket fans might also get pulled into watching football.
Prasad Potluri, managing director of PVP Ventures, which got the Kochi franchise of ISL along with Tendulkar as a partner, sees sports is an extension of entertainment.
"These celebrities have today understood their brand recall and are using that to built value in a sports business," he says.
While some of these celebrities invest their money in these sports teams, there are others that invest their time and lend their brand name. In return, they get a shareholding in the team or sweat equity.
Celebrities gives star value
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