Has Pro Kabaddi League lost its charm? A look at the reasons behind the slump in ratings

Has viewer fatigue finally snared the popular Pro Kabaddi League (PKL)? Well, if the TRP ratings are anything to go by, then it seems that the league has lost a bit of its lustre.

The drop in ratings raises questions on the timing of the league as it coincided with other properties beamed by broadcaster Star Sports – ISL, I-League and the recently concluded cricket series between India and West Indies.

As per BARC data, the first 34 games saw Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu & Kashmir contribute a mere 6% to the total viewership count. The viewership dipped to 5% in Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand. The only succour was the rise in viewership of the league in Tamil, where witnessed an 89% jump.

Overall, there has been a 31% fall in viewership from the previous season for the first 24 matches.

So, is Star's obsession with home-grown leagues over, especially keeping in mind the Disney takeover?

Perhaps not, maybe they feel keeping it low-key this time is the best bet.

"Incremental investments always make way for a conservative call in other decisions. After their mammoth deal for buying Indian Premier League rights they could be taking it slow and could be on a recovery mode," said Saurabh Uboweja, international brand expert and CEO Brands of Desire, a management consulting firm.

Last year, Star India bought the media rights of Indian Premier League rights (2018-2023) for Rs 16347.50 crore and followed it up with another mega deal worth Rs 6,138.1 crore for the BCCI media rights.

According to industry insiders, Star India might be playing it safe by concentrating on the tired and tested product - live cricket.

Star's lukewarm approach has had a cascading effect on PKL. "Since Star has not gone all out to promote this sixth season of PKL, other sponsors have also taken it easy and that has made PKL lose some popularity in terms of viewership," Uboweja added.

However, Star recognising the dip in PKL's popularity, which is the most watched league after IPL in India, will now telecast the league on Hindi movie channel Star Gold in a bid to arrest the slide in viewership.