The Prime Volleyball League’s second season, which took place earlier in the year, has seen a viewership increase of about 54% to 206 million, as compared to 133 million in its first season, the league organisers said citing viewership data from BARC.

The league organisers said it garnered almost equal interest from the female audiences with the gender split between men and women viewers being 58:42, showcasing a growing interest among women for the sport of volleyball.

This year, the teams were Ahmedabad Defenders, Bengaluru Torpedoes, Calicut Heroes, Chennai Blitz, Hyderabad Black Hawks, Kochi Blue Spikers, Kolkata Thunderbolts, and the Mumbai Meteors. The private league was aired on Sony Sports Network.

This season, there was a 15-point format, super serves and points, and celebrities including southern film superstars Vijay Deverakonda, Kalayani Priyadarshan who supported the league, the organisers said.

Sporting names like PV Sindhu, Mayank Agarwal, Swiss Open Champion, Satwiksairaj Rankireddy, Ashwini Ponnappa, Sajan Prakash also supported the league.

Tuhin Mishra, managing director of Baseline Ventures and co-founder of the league said: “We always knew we had a product that would capture the imagination of audiences. But to see the tremendous growth in terms of TV viewership and on social media is satisfying.”For the league’s second season, the organisers had joined hands with the commercial arm of the global body of volleyball — Fédération Internationale de Volley Ball, FIVB — and Volleyball World. The league came on board as the international streaming partners in a multiyear association.

According to a report by GroupM ESP, the entertainment, sports and esports division of GroupM India, 2021, the size of the Indian sports industry was estimated to have surpassed 9,500 crore in 2021.

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