Beyond cricket: can non-cricket sporting leagues add value to platforms’ entertainment mix?

“For a subscription platform, a major sporting property can be a powerful customer-acquisition trigger. The IPL demonstrates the extreme end of this effect. Non-cricket properties will rarely produce that magnitude of subscription acquisition. Their value is more likely to come from retention, frequency and reduced churn,” said Ritu Dhawan, managing director, VETO, which acquired the exclusive OTT streaming rights for the Davis Cup 2026. A viewer acquired for cricket can remain active for football, kabaddi or tennis and then migrate into entertainment, movies or regional programming, Dhawan added.