PRIME VOLLEYBALL LEAGUE: THE PRUDENT, VIABLE REVOLUTION THAT IS BEING TELEVISED

The tournament has injected fresh life into the sport in the country. The inclusive business model also continues to draw new investors. Given the audience it has already attracted and the young talent it is bringing through, it has the potential to become one of Indian sport's success stories

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Tuhin Mishra was looking for a sport that could catch the imagination of the television audience. He also wanted it to be a sport in which the national team had the potential to climb the ladder in the global arena. Volleyball fitted the bill, he found out.

That was some seven years ago. The Prime Volleyball League has not just injected badly needed fresh life into the sport in India, but it continues to attract new investors as well. Goa Guardians became the league's 10th team ahead of the player-auction at Kozhikode earlier this month.

Growing viewership

Tuhin, who was in the northern Kerala city, is excited that the fourth edition of the league could have a wider audience with YouTube streaming the action across the world. "Last season alone, the television viewership, according to BARC, was close to 200 million, which is a huge number for a non-cricket league in India," the league's co-founder tells The Hindu. "The league's growth over the last couple of years has, in fact, been really good."

The Prime Volleyball League wasn't always the Prime Volleyball League, though. Back in 2019, Tuhin's Baseline Ventures, in partnership with the Volleyball Federation of India (VFI), had launched Pro Volley. That league, however, lasted just one season. From the indoor court, Pro Volley moved to a court of law after the VFI terminated the 10-year contract. Baseline won the case, in straight sets, as it were: the VFI was ordered to pay Rs. 4.5 crore as compensation.

After a break of three years, the Prime Volleyball League took off. Calicut Heroes, which won Season 3 last year, was also one of the teams in Pro Volley. The franchise's owner, P.T. Safeer, says his passion for the game was shared by his partners at the Kozhikode-based Beacon Group. "We used to conduct volleyball tournaments and then formed a club," he says. "When Pro Volley took off, we wanted to be part of it."