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The Vivo Pro Kabaddi League (PKL), which is the second most popular sports league in India, suffered a sharp fall in its viewership categories for its sixth season, according to Broadcast Audience Research Council (BARC), India.
PKL was second only to the Indian Premier League in terms of viewership during its first season. The viewership ratings went on increasing season by season, giving huge popularity to the sport of kabaddi.
The kabaddi players had never been as popular as they are currently. Star Sports and Mashal Sports expanded the league to a 12-team tournament after the success it received in the first 4 seasons. That move paid off as an increase in the number of teams and matches led to increased number of viewers.
However, the sixth season of the league, which is underway currently, has recorded an overall 33% drop in its viewership as compared to Season 5.
Here are the 2 potential reasons why the viewership could have reduced:
#1 Competition from other popular shows and Indian cricket matches
When the Indian cricket team plays international matches at home, the matches draw substantial number of viewers. There is no doubt that there are loads and loads of cricket fans in India which even outnumber the kabaddi fans.
While Indian cricket matches do not take place daily, it is the presence of the other TV shows which clash with the timings of the Pro Kabaddi League, resulting in the kabaddi tournament's low viewership.
Popular shows like Big Boss Season 12, Kaun Banega Crorepati, to name a few, are running on Indian television and have the same timing as the PKL. With people choosing to watch the TV shows over kabaddi, it is obvious that the viewership numbers of the league have got affected.
#2 Change in Schedule
Earlier, the Pro Kabaddi League would commence around the months of June or July to end near the Diwali period. However, this time due to the Asian Games and Kabaddi Masters tournament, the league's schedule had to be postponed and as a result the league started from October.
October is the time when the Indian cricket team plays at home. Besides that, there are a host of Indian festivals like Navratri, Durga Puja, Dussehra in the month of October, so the Indian people are mostly engaged in celebrating festivals at night, giving the Pro Kabaddi League a skip.
If the organisers would not have changed PKL's schedule and held it in the month of June or July like before, chances were less that the league would have received such a fall in the viewership.
