The coronavirus pandemic completely stalled all kinds of sporting activities in India since March 2020. Be it badminton, cricket, hockey, tennis, snooker, every sport came to a standstill in the country due to COVID-19. The IPL 2020 was postponed to September-November and was not played in India. In these unprecedented times, sporting businesses was also impacted severely. As months progressed, the situation seemed bleak as the number of cases was increasing exponentially and returning to normalcy was looking difficult. As the world started coming to terms around the ‘new normal’, sports businesses gradually began to evolve. Be it in broadcasting or initiatives, these sporting businesses decided to evolve. They decided to capitalise on the increased usage of digital platforms to give genuine sporting content.
In the last six months, India has built a body of good sporting documentaries and shows on various digital platforms be it cricket and other sports. The latest examples of it are Double Trouble, hosted by India women cricketers Smriti Mandhana and Jemimah Rodrigues and ‘The Finish Line’ hosted by squash champion Saurav Ghosal. Can one imagine two female sportstars hosting, cracking jokes and pulling the legs of other sporting superstars? The coronavirus pandemic offered an opportunity for Jemimah Rodrigues and Smriti Mandhana to become hosts with a difference and the success of ‘Double Trouble’ is proof of the first step towards innovation.
Speaking exclusively to DNA, Tuhin Mishra, who runs Baseline Ventures Pvt Ltd and who manages the likes of Mandhana and Rodrigues, said the pandemic had created opportunities for these new concepts. “Even before the pandemic started, we had taken a call to focus on the digital medium and with respect to sports. In one of the discussions with Smriti Mandhana, we had discussed this idea and she was game for it. When we pitched in to Jemimah Rodrigues as her co-host, the show took off. The pandemic has created an opportunity and that is something which will be there because people love to see sportspeople doing something interesting which does not take away their playing time," Mishra said.
However, the novel concept of a sportsman becoming an interviewer was not just repeated in Double Trouble but also in ‘The Finish Line’. In that, Ghosal played the host and he had celebrities like PV Sindhu, Abhinav Bindra, Viswanathan Anand as his guests.
Mishra said a sportsman interviewing a sportsman brings out perspectives that might perhaps not be possible in a normal interview. “A sporting individual can bring a different perspective which is fresh. There is novelty is attached to it. As viewers, a lot of perspectives is obtained through this interaction. A normal host may not be able to command that respect,” Mishra said.
Mishra has understood that the coronavirus pandemic will result in different consumption patterns. “Digital in terms of percentage that it gets, their value is increasing day by day. It is becoming part and parcel of our lives. Internet is zero cost figuratively. It is being accessed by everyone across all strata of society. They watch stuff on their phones. It depends on what kind of content is appealing. There are certain sports that has mass followings and so do sports personalities. This medium will give them a chance to reach out to the masses and get them closer,” Mishra said.
If Mishra has made a difference in terms of the content, then one individual decided to do something on the 74th year of India’s Independence. Vivek Singh, co-founder and MD of Procam International decided to initiate ‘Sunfeast India Run As One’ program. It was a digitally supported participatory event, to encourage purposeful fundraising from within India and across the world. The initiative was aimed at providing support to vulnerable sections of society who lost their livelihoods due to the pandemic.
The aim was simple. To raise as many funds as possible from people power and their aim was to raise two crores 11 lakhs. Why that particular number? “It was the 74th year of Indian Independence, We asked ourselves who this pandemic had affected. Everyone replied, From Kashmir to Kanyakumari, everybody has been affected. If you multiply 74 by the distance between Kashmir and Kanyakumari, the figure is 2,11,000 kms. Can India run 2 lakh 11,000 kms? Can we raise 100 rupees from the backend from every km run which is 2 crore 11 lakhs? Both targets were surpassed by the grace,” Vivek Singh told DNA in an interaction.
The run raised 3 crore 12 lakhs and the distance covered was 4 lakh kms. Vivek Singh also highlighted that as a responsible citizen of the country, he wanted to be part of the solution in a time when everything was bleak.
“We never imagined that life would come to a standstill and keep people in fear. It was unprecedented. Sports businesses thrive on connecting with people and camaraderie. Now, when that was shut, we were wondering what we would do. First, there was the lockdown. Second was fear. Third, the pain and millions of people and how they lost their livelihood. It was the sadness that people had lost their livelihoods. From that, the moment of empathy was born the ‘India Run As One’ was born,” Vivek Singh said.
The coronavirus pandemic has given sporting businesses the license to innovate and reach out in novel ways which might perhaps not have been possible. On the face of these developments, it looks like they are capitalizing on it.