Popular Indian Premier League franchise Chennai Super Kings have become the biggest sports franchise in India with 4.09 crore fans, reported a media consulting firm on Wednesday.
As per their survey titled We, The Sports Fans of India, Ormax media also claimed that CSK has a loyal fan base of 2.25 crore people which is close to the entire fan base of football in the country.
The report pegs India’s sports fan base at 13.63 crore people.
As per the firm’s methodology, a fan has been defined as someone who watched live sports on TV or OTT in the last month for at least 30 minutes as an active viewer.
Cricket leads with 12.42 crore fans. Kabaddi, wrestling (including WWE), and football are in a close contest for the second position, with 2.3-2.8 crore fans each. The report profiles these fans by gender, age, NCCS, pop strata and states.
The report is based on consumer research conducted over a period of six months from July to December 2021. It has a sample size of 12,000 people across urban and rural India.
The report also surveyed various football leagues played across the globe and their fan following. Lionel Messi’s erstwhile team Barcelona FC tops the list with 39 lakh fans. Manchester United’s Cristiano Ronaldo and Messi feature in the list of the 10 most popular sportspersons in India. The list includes seven cricketers and badminton star PV Sindhu, besides the two football superstars.
In the section on viewing behaviour, the report looks at the TV vs digital consumption of sports. While 44 percent of Indian sports fans watch live sports only on TV, a sizeable 36 percent are using both traditional and digital media to watch live sports, while the remaining 20 percent are watching exclusively on digital.
Read all the Latest News, Trending News, Cricket News, IPL Live Score, IPL 2022 schedule, IPL 2022 Points table and Entertainment News. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
Find latest and upcoming tech gadgets online on Tech2 Gadgets. Get technology news, gadgets reviews & ratings. Popular gadgets including laptop, tablet and mobile specifications, features, prices, comparison.