‘Kho Kho has affection of masses, needs no promotion’

I wanted to set up a new sports league. Kho Kho came about because it had a larger penetration in tier two and tier-three areas. It seemed like a unique proposition. I have seen it being played in Ichalkaranji of Maharashtra, considered to be the fortress of Kho Kho. This is how the thought of turning it into a television property came about. It has the necessary stickiness to capture the attention of a particular audience, say for 15 minutes or 20 minutes format.

Has it been a profitable venture?

I have not attained profitability yet. It’s humanly impossible in the Indian market or the subcontinent market to become profitable in the second year. We’ve built a value-based proposition for our franchisees our broadcast and all the other stakeholders. We’ve not achieved profitability, but we are en route to profitability, and we are in a much better space.

You have mainstreamed Kho Kho. What do you think it takes to mainstream such a sport?

I have always believed that Kho Kho has a very deep-rooted culture and affection of the masses. There is so much talent among boys and girls that you don’t need to promote the sport. It’s already been promoted for the last 75 years. The fact is that team sports also sell well in India. Look at the top five leagues in India, which include Indian Premier League and Pro Kabaddi League. So what happens is team sport gives you a sense of camaraderie. It gives you a sense of ownership of a particular franchise city. If it is a team sport, it’ll have better potential in my mind.

What are the future plans for Ultimate Kho Kho Season 2 which starts on December 24?

Right now, of course, there’ll be an expansion of teams. We will be looking at media rights maximisation. There will be an expansion of teams. We will be looking at adding two more new teams next year, maybe two more new teams in 2025. And then, more importantly, one of our plans is to launch the Kho Kho Women’s League.