Technological advancements in broadcasting have changed the face of sports in India

The Indian Premier League, Indian Super League, Pro Kabaddi League and several other franchise-based leagues have made a huge impact on Indian sports in the last ten years. Earlier, athletes needed to play for the Indian team to pursue a career in sports, however, now the sportspersons have the option of improving financial viability by participating in the franchise-based leagues in the country.

The leagues have grown professionalism and also encouraged athletes to build strong techniques. For example, kabaddi was a strength-oriented game before the Pro Kabaddi League era. However, now, the players need to focus on building their raiding or defending technique to be successful.

The start of franchise leagues has also contributed to the emphatic rise in the quality of sports broadcasting.

The advancement of broadcasting technology has helped organizers to present the sport beautifully and hence attract more fans. Today every aspect of a game is covered by a dedicated camera. For example, there are particular cameras to record coaches’ reactions, players’ movements and fan’s reactions. The full package gives an in-stadia-like experience to the millions of sports fans watching at home.

The way the organizers of the Pro Kabaddi League have presented the sport through television has made a massive difference to the success of the league. The efficient usage of cameras has helped the organizers explain the nitty-gritties of the game. Furthermore, investment in good commentary has made the sport very exciting to follow in many households.

With over 20 cameras on the ground, the sports teams around the world have also been able to record each movement in all matches and collect important information about their own performance and the opposition’s strengths and weaknesses. The expansive camera technology has gone on to give birth to sports analytics.

The collection of data has changed tactical decision-making in sports. If I know that a team’s left attack is stronger than their right attack then I will devise my strategy according to that information. Only cricket had moderately elaborate statistics about a particular match for a long time, but now, information about every small movement is being collected and being analyzed in all sports.

The improvement in camera technology has also made a significant impact on umpiring in various sports. Earlier, the umpire’s or the referee’s decision was the final one, but now the players have a chance to review decisions, which has minimized the effect of umpiring errors in matches.

The umpire review system has worked wonderfully in Pro Kabaddi League so far; however, we are planning to take it one step further in the upcoming years.

Tennis has utilized Hawk-Eye to determine whether the ball was out or not out brilliantly for many years. And taking inspiration from tennis, we are planning to introduce the usage of an electronic device, which will help us decide whether a player is out or not out in a particular scenario of a match.

PKL has revolutionized the sport of kabaddi with exciting innovations such as Super Tackles and Do-or-Die Raids over the course of the last nine years, however, we are constantly looking to improve the experience for our fans and our players. We’ve come a long way since the first season in 2014 to make it the second-most watched sport in India. Let’s see how far we can go in the next 10 years!

E Prasad Rao also known as Kabaddi Rao is the Technical Director of Pro Kabaddi League. He is also the most successful kabaddi coach in India. Under his coaching, the Indian Kabaddi men’s team won gold medals in all the Asian Games, Asian Championships, and international tournaments for over two decades from 1982 to 2002. He is also the recipient of the first Dronacharya Award in Kabaddi recognising his outstanding Kabaddi coaching.