There's an essential truth to the Hockey India League -- as true in 2024 as it was in 2013 - in that high-quality premier domestic hockey competition is essential for the overall development of the sport in the country. When it ran for five years in its first avatar (only the men's league), India hockey benefited immensely, improving their standards on and off the pitch, and set off a chain of events that culminated in the men's team earning back-to-back Olympic medals.
If it was this good, why was it canned in the first place? Well, running a league comes at a high cost and the first time out, both the franchise owners and Hockey India failed to make the league sustainable -- issues included rising expenses and calendar issues (because of the introduction of the Pro League). Having a solid program for the national teams ensured the India don't lose out much at the international level but the upcoming talent, and especially the women players, were missing out on the benefits of playing in a world class domestic competition.
Restarting it, then, was important. But have the financial issues that plagued them been sorted? Why should an investor get involved in this second avatar of the league? Can they make it a sustainable enterprise? ESPN spoke to HIL owners to understand:
What is the motivation to invest?
For JSW Sports, who own a men's and women's team (Soorma Hockey Club) in the HIL, the motivation was simple: to develop the sport, especially in Punjab and Haryana. And they have the experience of running franchise teams across different sports to back them up.
"A lot of decisions we've taken, in terms of team acquisitions, they are often looked at from two important lenses," said Divyanshu Singh, the COO of JSW Sports. "One lens is always the development of sports in the country. Then there are decisions which are taken only from commercial lenses. We own Bengaluru FC now for more than a decade and through the club, we're investing in the grassroots and being the only academy in the country which is accredited by AFC and AIFF five stars. We're then aiming to develop football through that channel."
"It's a similar approach taken for hockey because we're so deeply invested in Olympic sports. In the case of hockey, it ticks both the boxes -- the big focus being development. Especially with Punjab and Haryana, very important and strategic areas for the development of hockey. In the case of Punjab, 80-90% of talent in the men's team is coming from there and 80-90% of talent in the women's team is coming from Haryana."
Soorma will represent Punjab in the men's league and Haryana in women's league. According to Singh, the group is in for a long-haul -- they 'want to be active' in the off season with the main objective being opening a residential academy in Chandigarh while also starting various other grassroot activities, including coach education programs. They also want to use hockey as a tool to tackle bigger societal issues. "We want to develop not only as a sports brand but also as a lifestyle, cultural and societal brand," Singh said.
Indian tennis legend Mahesh Bhupathi, who's the CEO of SG Sports and Entertainment which also owns two teams in the league, is not bothered about the issues that plagued the league in its previous run. What's crucial for him is that the league comes through successfully in the first two seasons. "India sports has come a long way in the last five years, and it's growing every year. We're very excited about hockey because of the recent success," he said.
Meanwhile, like JSW, Shrachi Sports also own two teams (from Kolkata) in the Hockey India League. For them, investing in hockey teams was a 'bold' decision. "Sports in India has been a recent industry. Cricket has shown us that sports can be an economy through IPL and other asset monetization over the years," said Rahul Todi, MD of the Shrachi Group.
From Shrachi's point of view, it's a great time to invest in hockey because India is constantly delivering at the international level. They are prepared to wait on the returns and have confidence that the Hockey India will deliver after learning lessons from the 2013-17 period.
How long are the prepared to wait for returns?
JSW insists the vision is long term and therefore prepared to wait a bit more on the returns.
"The IPL teams took seven to eight years to break even. The non cricket teams take much longer. Of course we're in for the long haul. To give you a context, with regard to Pro Kabaddi, we've managed to breakeven in five years. In hockey, we're looking at a time cycle of 7-8 years. A lot depends on the way the media rights pan out. The whole central sponsorship and media rights revenue gets divided between all the teams, which ends up being the big contributor for revenue sources," Singh said.
For Todi, that window is a bit smaller. "From team ownership, there's a two-three years gestation period," he said. "The commercial rights are done, we haven't got the figures yet, but I am assuming it will be a good figure. Having said that, the gestation or the difficulty tends to happen because it's hockey. It's taking a lot of time while cricket and IPL can do a 10-year deal. Hockey India is also doing a multiple year deal. It is also a good sign, gives us confidence as co-investors. I think from the league perspective, we would definitely be incurring a loss. Second year, we hope to breakeven but it will involve a lot of effort from every stakeholder, including the Indian economy."
The rights he refers to are that Hockey India have signed a three-year broadcasting deal with Doordarshan and Sony Sports while Hero MotoCorp will be the title sponsor of the league for the next three years.
Bhupathi is prepared to buckle down for the long haul too. "Your assumptions and my assumptions will never match. We own a team, it's an asset, we'll break even when we have to break even," he said. "As of now, our focus is now that the next 24 months are critical. To make sure we do a lot of the right things. To make sure that in 2027 everybody is looking forward to it. The IPL is literally a festival and there's opportunity for another sport to also get some traction at that level."
What's common is a belief that the federation have learnt their lessons from the failure of HIL 1.
"I'm sure Hockey India knows the mistake they made last time and won't repeat them," said Bhupati. "As an owner group, I think they are very hands on about discussing what's going on with us. We're all aware that it will take one or two seasons to build the property. We're all committed to doing that."
"Hockey India had a lot of learning from previous experiences," said Todi. "A lot of factors have been taken into consideration to keep the cost low in the beginning. As you can see in the format, one location for men, one for women. Number two: player salary caps were also kept at a reasonable level. Hockey India League has been preparing for this for more than a year, I think they are very confident of getting the kind of support it deserves."
What is the main reason for their optimism?
While the financial expectations can differ, all the owners are on the same page in terms of making the league a success with a newer generation of sports consumers, with focus on digital penetration.
Todi, for one, is optimistic that the ever-growing digital landscape will push the league towards success. "The ecosystem of sports is growing, even globally we're seeing sports entertainment or original sports production with Netflix and Amazon Prime focusing on it in a big way."
"I am just comparing the period of 2013-17 whereas to now. The world has changed. India's digital penetration has increased. More and more people today are using their phones for entertainment. I think all these factors will play a role in ensuring that it becomes a long-term success," he said.
JSW's Singh is optimistic, too, and stressed on the need to expand the sport to younger generations. "The exciting challenge for a sport like hockey is that it has about 70 million fans in India out of the 695 million sports fans who exist as per the Deloitte Google report," he said. "What is important is to grow the popularity in Gen Z. The big fans of hockey, I would say, are the older generation. Also, hockey is not so much of an urban phenomenon. Of course, it is popular in our home states of Punjab and Haryana but if you take the rest of the country, its popularity stems a lot from rural and semi-urban India," Singh said.
"Which is perfectly fine as well because a bigger majority of the sports fans in India are coming from those categories. From a long-term growth perspective of the sport, it's very important that it appeals to the Gen Z and what works in favour of hockey is that India is doing well. Any sport which must grow commercially, it is quintessential that India do well."