THE MAKING OF AN

INDIAN SPORTS FAN

Sports Entertainment & Media
Marketing – Group Assignment 1

Submission By

Dakshil Patel (MBA/0024/57) Madhav Maheshwari Shreya Chatterjee (MBA/0064/57)

Ishika Raj (MBA/0032/57) (MBA/0036/57) Akhil Bhutada (MBA/0078/57)
Journey of a Sports Fan
Influence Stages Benefits Determining Factors

Socio-economic Environment
Inception Escapism
Familial Influence & Income
Involvement
Physical Environment
Upgrade Excitement
Location & City Infrastructure

Market Setting
Zenith Social Connect Satisfaction
Government & Private Investment

Sport Standings
Regression Validation & Esteem
Player Skill level, International Performance
Affiliation
Personal Context
Termination Performance
Age, Exposure, Beliefs & Preferences

Since we want to understand the Inception Upgrade

making and nurturing of a fan, we How to tap in India’s bulgeoning youth How to sustain them to “hard core” sports
focus on the critical early stages : population fans

Study Design
1. We first start by conducting IDIs to
understand specific focus areas and to
verify our insights developed post-IDI
2. 10 IDIs were conducted exclusively for
self-declared fans outside IIM C. However,
we have also included IDIs of Sports Fans
within our team as a bonus input.
3. Questions were designed to be sensitive
of personal biases.
4. Ranking & Quantification questions were
kept to a minimum as a trade-off might not
be possible in real-life and such
responses may not be accurate.
5. Price premiums were captured as a %
rather than a lump sum.
Categories of Questions
Type of Association
Example:3 List 3 Words that you best associate with your favourite team/player
Stimuli
Example: Can you recall when did you become a fan? If yes, was it prolonged
or after a specific performance?
Context
Example: Who introduced you to the sport? How did you engage with it?
Behavioural Impact
Example: Did you ever consider giving up your fanhood? Do you follow all
matches of the player/team or all high stake matches or none?
Cognitive Impact
Example: Do you research and read about the current developments in the
game as well? How much premium would you pay for their endorsed products?
 WHAT MAKES A
SPORTS FAN?
INSIDE THE MINDS OF 10 SELF-PROCLAIMED FANS

Brought to you by: https://googleslidesthemes.com

IDI Participant
Profile Highlights
Complete Transcripts in Exhibit 1
Questionnaire
1. Which Sport?
What 2. Which Player/ Team?
3. Multiple Sports or just one?
1. At what age were you introduced to the sport?
2. When did you engage in this sport?
When
3. When did you become a fan?
4. Did you have any peers or family members who influenced you liking as well?
1. Do you recall an instance when you developed a liking for this sport?
How
2. Was it after a particular performance or prolonged or through any other instance?
1. Why did you choose this particular team/player?
Why 2. Did you research about other teams/players as well?
3. Based on what qualities would you identify fellow fans?
1. Do you watch all the matches of your favourite team/sportsperson?
2. Do you watch all high stake matches of your favourite team/sportsperson?
What then 3. How much % more would you be willing to pay for a product endorsed by your favourite
team/sportsperson? How much for one customised for your favourite team/sportsperson?
How much for watching their regular or high stake matches live?
 FAN 1: Naman Jain
SPORT 1: Cricket
FAVOURITE PLAYER/ TEAM: Dhoni & CSK

SPORT 2: Tennis
FAVOURITE PLAYER/ TEAM: Federer

When: Highlights:
10 for Cricket,
● Became a Cricket Fan early on while the 2nd favourite
22 for Tennis
sport developed only at the age of 22
● Love for Dhoni, translated into love from CSK and

How: Team India

Parents & ● Identifies as a Die-hard fan
Friends
● “Can’t miss any match” of the favourite Player of his
Primary Sport, Cricket
● Naman himself was a part of his school cricket team
Why: while his parents too were cricket enthusiasts indicating
Performance
strong Familial Influence

Category: Devoted Fan

Outlier: Considered giving up fanhood due to a long period of poor performance &
scandal
 FAN 2: Akhilesh Anand
SPORT 1: Football
FAVOURITE PLAYER/ TEAM: Real Madrid, Cristiano Ronaldo

SPORT 2: Tennis
When:
FAVOURITE PLAYER/ TEAM: Roger Federer
12 for
Highlights:
Football, 18
for Tennis
● The Fanhood for Specific Team/ Player for both the sports started
based on Performance
● Considers himself a Life-long Fan of Real Madrid How:
● Yet, the word associated with his favourite team is - “Success” : News &
Another, performance based parameter Friends
● Watches not many matches of the favourite players but a majority
of the matches of his favourite team - Inline with the Benefits
Theory Why:
Performance
● Surprisingly though, considered dropping fanhood when favourite & Personality
player left his favourite team
● Economically invested by buying merchandises and paying to
watch
Category: Devoted Fan
Outlier: Frequency of watching matches low but not indicative of his
commitment
 FAN 3: Jayant Chauhan
SPORT 1: Football
FAVOURITE PLAYER/ TEAM: Barcelona, Messi

SPORT 2: F1
FAVOURITE PLAYER/ TEAM: Lando Norris

Highlights:
● Started playing football as early as at 12
● Sites visual attributes as the most notable attribute of his favourite
players
● Loyalty for single players high and so is his personal affiliation
with them
● Ready to pay 200-300% for products endorsed and customized
by his favourite player
Why: Playing
● Yet surprisingly the inclination to watch matches lower than Style &
When: Persona
normal 13 for
● Remembers brands endorsed by his favourite players too Football, 23
● As with other cases, love for the 2nd support as late as at 23
for F1 How:
School &
Hotstar
Category: Die-hard Fan
Outlier: Follows his 2nd favourite sport as diligently as the 1st!
 SPORT 1: Football
When: How:
12 for Friends
FAVOURITE PLAYER/ TEAM: Chelsea F.C., Drogba Football, &
21 for F1 YouTube
SPORT 2: F1
FAVOURITE PLAYER/ TEAM: Lewis Hamilton

Highlights: Why:
Personality
• The only one in our interview group who highlights game
difficulty as a barrier to playing the sport in India FAN 4:
• Plays the primary Sport almost daily!
• Would be willing to pay 3 times to watch high stake matches of
Shourya
the team Maheshwari
• Merchandises as well through Jerseys and Games
• Never misses a high stake match and catches almost 90% of
regular matches of his favourite team as well
• Introduced to the second sport through a video game simulation
and loved it enough to start watching regularly.
• Up to date about both the sports

Category: Die-hard Fan

Proves: High influence of friends at an early age resulted in his Die Hard
Fanhood
 FAN 5: Het Shah
SPORT 1: Football
FAVOURITE PLAYER/ TEAM: Chelsea F.C., Frank Lampard

Highlights:
● Watches over 90% matches of his favourite league and
even the group stage matches of his favourite team.
● Became a fan as early as the age of 11!
When:
● The only interviewee to highlight a socially
11 for
Football unacceptable quality as attractive in his favourite player
– Aggression.
● Calls out management issues during a particular period
as a potential reason to drop fanhood.
How: ● Willing to pay upto 2000 Euros for a high stakes match
Self Interest of his favourite team – 10 times the average price!
● Indulges in merchandise shopping frequently
● One of the few interviewees who calls out Nationalism
Why: as a reason for fanhood
Performance
& Personality
Category: Devoted Fan
Outlier: Started watching football on his own, without any external influence
of family & friends
 FAN 6: Aditya Gaggar
SPORT 1: Cricket
FAVOURITE PLAYER/ TEAM: Indian Cricket Team, M.S. Dhoni

Highlights:
● The one with Nationalism as the driving force behind fanhood
● Watches most matches of Indian Cricket Team and all during
world cup and other special series When:
● Unwavering support – Never considered dropping fanhood Age 11
● Would be willing to pay 4 times for high stake matches
● He could name the endorsed brand of players as well
● Trust and Loyalty are the attributes Aditya associates with his
How:
favourite team and player
Friends
● Been a supporter since the age of 13 when introduced to the
sport by his friends in school
● Devotion consolidated post 2007 WC
Why:
Performance

Category: Die-hard Fan

Outlier: None – Exhibits exceptionally strong affiliation with the team
 FAN 7: Aman Arora
SPORT 1: Football
FAVOURITE PLAYER/ TEAM: Manchester United F.C.
SPORT 2: F1
FAVOURITE PLAYER/ TEAM: Red Bull
Highlights: When: 12
for
● Started playing at 12, been a fan ever-since
Football,
● Researched about team’s history and developed a liking for them 22 for F1
● Fanhood deriving it’s strength from personal beliefs as the “love
for the sport, not the money” was the key motivator
● Willing to pay almost 10 times to watch high stake matches How:
● Bought an autobiography of the player Alex Ferguson Friends
● Would also be willing to pay 2 times the average price for a
custom merchandise
● Could name the brands associated with the team and watches all Why:
matches religiously Underdogs
● Recently got interested in F1 and considers it highly underrated
● Doesn’t watch very often but willing to pay 3x to watch live

Category: Die-Hard Fan

Outlier: Considered dropping fanhood when team at their
lowest form for a long time
 FAN 8: Shubham Agrawal
SPORT 1: Cricket
When: FAVOURITE PLAYER/ TEAM: Indian Cricket Team
Age 13
SPORT 2: Tennis
FAVOURITE PLAYER/ TEAM: Stefanos Tsitsipas

Highlights:
How: ● Considers the fame of cricket as the reason why he gt
Friends
introduced and addicted to it early on
● Never considered dropping fanhood in the 20 years of
fanhood
Why: ● Would pay 5 times to watch a high stake match live
Nationalism
● The Team Spirit and determination, according to him, make
the secret recipe behind Indian Cricket Team’s charm
● However, has not consider buying endorsed or custom
products
● Doesn’t watch his second favourite sport as much but still
keeps himself up-to-date with the trends and developments
Category: Die-hard Fan
Outlier: Too many favourite players to choose from! Anyone who
performs well for Team India
 FAN 9: Rakesh Sharma
SPORT 1: Cricket
FAVOURITE PLAYER/ TEAM: Virat Kohli

SPORT 2: Badminton
FAVOURITE PLAYER/ TEAM: P.V. Sindhu
Highlights:
● Developed a liking for the second sport after
starting to play the same himself, first
● However, does not associate any premium in
When:
terms of merchandises or regular match tickets 15 for How:
of his favourite players Cricket, 20 Family
for
● Highlights accessibility are frequency of such Badminton
matches as the reason for this rationale
● Plays both the sport regularly – A true sports
Why:
enthusiast! Performance
● Highlights performance related attributes as
reason of fanhood
● Too young to have considered dropping Category: Temporary Fan
fanhood so far
Outlier: No Premium associated with his favourite players
but instead enjoys playing regularly himself
 SPORT 1: ESport – Dota2
FAVOURITE PLAYER/ TEAM: Miracle/ Team Nigma

Highlights:
● Was a fan of Cricket but moved to Esports at the age of 18
● Watches every match of his favourite team and calls out
ease of catching web-streams as the reason for the same
● Reasons of fanhood : “Thriller Performances” for the team
but “Calm Demeanour” for the favourite player FAN 10:
● Never considered giving up fanhood even after sustained Ishan
poor showing
● Associates 3 times premium with watching high stake
When: Bhushan
12 for How:
matches live even though events web-streamed for free Cricket, Friends
18 for
● Calls out the atmosphere of the arena as the reason for
ESports
such premium-ness
● Merchandises heavily and follows game developments Why:
Performance &
extensively
Personality
● Still follows Cricket but stronger affiliation for the
ESport
Category: Die-Hard Fan
Outlier: Different, yet the same – Contrary to reservations about Esports,,
the same pattern of fanhood as physical sports observed
Key Insights (from IDIs)
When
● Tap them early :
Each one of our
interviewee claims to have
been introduced to their
primary favourite sport
early on with the latest one
at 17.
● College, second
window of
opportunity: 9/10
interviewees got
introduced to a 2nd sport
between 18-22 years of
age – The usual UG
college going age in India
What
● Myth Busters? Not this
time : Cricket & Soccer, in-line
with our understanding, emerged
as the most followed sports
especially in Tier 2 cities.
● Complexity & speed
promotes fanhood: A sport if
perceived as easy to play or too
complicated, loses its charm
significantly. E.g.– People who
thought Badminton is just
“entertainment” never considered
watching it. Similarly speed of
the game is extremely important
for fans. Which is where game
coverage becomes extremely
important.
We now try to verify these insights against our survey results
How Why
● Value Alignment ● Current Awareness
Consistency: People
who didn’t enjoy playing
the sport physically
themselves, didn’t
consider performance as
an important attribute and
went for more emotional
connect
● Playing, not
important: Contrary to
the popular belief, many ● Cognitive Dissonance:
people never played the
game themselves
physically before
becoming a fan. Hence it
is not the first step to
fanhood.
Essential, indicating
Escapism: Instead of asking
what made them a fan, we
checked with the interviewees
how they identify their fellow
fans and by their current
awareness was the common
answer. This indicates a high
degree of escapism that people
seek from sports.
When highlighting a negative
attribute of any favourite
player/team, 9/10 players
mention a positive twist to align
their beliefs indicating a need
for societal acceptance
SURVEY
RESULTS
Detailed Questionnaire in Exhibit 2
Overview
When How
Specific Moment When they
became a fan
<5 30%
60.00%
25%
40.00%
20%
>25 20.00% 5-12 15%
0.00% 10%
5%
0%
18-25 12-18
Cannot Recall
Age when Introduced to the
sport After a particular
match/series/performance
Age when engaged with the
sport Prolonged Process
<5 5-12 12-18 18-25
Age when they became a fan
Other Reasons
Overview
Game Introduction to Fanhood: Emotional Affiliation or Performance Based?

● Only 24% survey takers indicate a different age group
of sport introduction and of becoming a fan.
● This indicates an immediate seeking of favourite
players and team, and hence a must for the overall
interest in the game.
● We asked the respondents to indicate three words
that they associate best with their favourite
player/team.
● The results clearly indicate an inclination towards
Emotional Affiliation based fanhood.

20
Straight to Devotee:

● Only 20% participants even considered giving up 10

fanhood ever in their lifetime.
● Out of the ones who did, only 18% changed their 0
liking to another team or player. Emotional Performance Mix
Key Insights (from Survey)
When Where What When

Early age to teenage

● Millennials & Gen ● Metro + Town
(5-18 yrs) again
Z our focus Class I – 94%
emerged as the best
● Male – 94% ● RoU – 6% time to be introduced
Football to the sport, with faster
Female – 6% Cricket fanhood development
Other Team Sports
Non Team Sports

How: AIR (Acquaint > Involve > Rave) Why: Influence of Family & Admiration of Friends

● A majority of our respondents developed fanhood for a ● In-line with out understanding, Family & Friends form a
team/player after a specific performance: 46% while a dominant influence in the making of fans and even more
significant number chose gradual liking: 36% so at early ages – 80%

● A clear divide in emotional affiliation vs. performance ● In the middle ages however, Media also gains
importance with people also getting introduced to a
validation seeking by fans
sport due to repeat game broadcasts on TV
 Behavioural highlights (from Survey)
Watching Behaviour Playing Behaviour
46% 40% 38%
50%
45% 29%
40% 30%
35%
30% 18%
25% 20% 15%
20% 15%
15% 11% 10% 10% 10%
8%
10%
5%
0% 0%
Go-Getter Hard Worker Hanger Sporty Soul

Playing Constraints (in order of

Type
frequency significance)
Go-Getter More than 1. Time
• The Know-it-all: watches most matches irrespective of importance and
2. Resource
follows sports, teams as well as players closely twice a week
3. Co-player availability
• The Know-it-some:
i. The Event-Garde: watches most matches of major events and follows all major Hard Once a week 1. Time
events closely 2. Co-player availability
ii. The Favouritist: watches most matches and follows favourite team/player only
Worker
3. Resource
iii. The Couch-Glued: watches most high stakes matches and follows all major
events closely Hanger Once a 1. Time
iv. The Almost: watches most high stakes matches or those of major events and 2. Resource
month
follows sports, teams, players closely 3. Co-player availability
• The Know-it-enough: watches few matches and follows major events Constraints mentioned above plus energy
or relies on sporadic updates on favourite team/player
Sporty Rarely/ never
constraint & lack of int. in playing physically
Soul
Affective and Cognitive highlights (from Survey)
Affective highlights Cognitive highlights

90% 80% 74%

77%
80% 70%
70% 60%
60%
50%
50%
40%
40%
30% 26%
30%
18%
20% 20%
10% 5% 10%
0% 0%
Afficionados Fair Weather Theatre Goers Follow on Do not follow
Social Media
Fanhood determiners considered necessary to qualify as a fan (based
• 94% of the fans have favourite teams and/or players
on inputs from existing self declared fans):
• 28% fans are forget-them-nots i.e. their favourite player is no
• Current Affairs Knowledge: 4.02/5
longer a part of their favourite team or has retired
• Historical Knowledge: 3.62/5
• Merchandise owned: 3.67/5 for sporty souls
• Watching engagement: 3.67/5 for know-it-all and know-it-some
• Duration of fanhood: too varied for statistical significance
Engagement Matrix (from survey)
Event- Couch- Know-it-
Know-it-all Favoritist Almost
Garde Glued enough
Go-Getter 43% 14% 0% 14% 14% 14%
Hard
33% 33% 17% 17% 0% 0%
Worker
Hanger 47% 7% 13% 7% 13% 13%
Sporty Soul 53% 18% 9% 9% 9% 0%

Based on our survey results, we have found an interesting correlation between the fan’s playing
behaviour and his/ her watching behaviour
E.g. 53% of Sporty souls were found to be know-it-alls based on their survey responses
RECOMMENDATIONS
 Basis for recommendation
Tournament/
Relevant Category Sport Team/ Player
League

Preferred Fan 1. Know-it-all 1. Event-Garde

Segment (Watching 1. Favouritist
behaviour)
2. Almost 2. Couch-Glued

Correlated Fan
Segment (Playing Sporty Soul Go-Getter Hard Worker
behaviour)

Various Stages of
AIR for creating Acquaint Involve Rave
and nurturing fans
Acquaint - Familiarizing with the sport and teams, instill forget-
them-not characteristics at a young, impressionable age in
potential fans
• Club/league partnerships to organize
sports camps in affiliation with schools
• Club/league partnerships in sports
educational videos and other such
material for kids
• Increased normalized representation of
the female gender
• Community outreach programmes to
increase engagement with players
• Create hype by advertising before a
major tournament to draw attention
(#MeriDoosriCountry campaign on Sony)
• Commentary and match coverage in
regional languages (explanatory in
nature)
• Behind the scene docu-dramas such as
Drive to Survive, The Last Dance
• Simple mobile games that are easier to
play and help build interest in sport (Eg –
Score Hero)
• Exhibition matches with star players to
generate hype and put the best quality on
display
• Increased price-sensitive merchandise
options
Involve - Engaging
physically/virtually with
• Advent of Social Media – More engaging
and interactive content in the form of lives,
the sport,
polls, contests, discussion groups, etc. tournaments/leagues,
Making it easier to be updated about teams, players, etc.
important events. with the help of
• Advanced sports camps in association external influence and
with well-known sportspersons, coaches, building internal drive
etc. to identify and motivate young talent
• Fan parks and other community events to
make sports viewing a community affair
• Play and be involved with Fantasy league,
E-sports titles or mobile games
Rave - Engaging physically/virtually with the sport, tournaments/
leagues, teams, players, etc. completely fuelled by internal drives and a
sense of community and belonging

• Advent of Social Media – More engaging and

interactive content, behind-the-scenes footage of
favourite clubs/players/leagues, developing and
nurturing online fan communities, etc.
• Enhanced in-stadium experience to drive up
ticket sales by increasing hospitality, providing
discounted merchandise, WiFi, etc.
• Increasing player endorsements as opposed
to celebrity endorsements
• Fan clubs – teams and clubs should organize
events in association with fan clubs to strengthen
bond with fans and enhance loyalty by making
them feel an integral part of the club
Annexure Links
Links:

1.IDI Transcript
2.Survey Results
3.https://www.researchgate.net/publication/282657892_Measuring_sports_fans'_involvement_
The_Fan_Behavior_Questionnaire