Pickleball is emerging as the new sport that could capture the attention of Indian audiences, with brands flocking to it in a big way and advertisers already investing in it, said Vinit Karnik, Managing Director of Content, Entertainment and Sports at GroupM India, who believes this sport is set to rise faster than expected.
While speaking on the sidelines of the recent launch of the GroupM TYNY report, Karnik pointed out that advertisers should not be comparing emerging sports with cricket or other high impact properties. Cricket operates on an entirely different scale, making such comparisons inappropriate, he added.
Furthermore, he went on to say, “Take Kabaddi and football, for example, neither can be measured against the IPL, yet both have grown into economies worth over Rs 100 crores. Today, the kind of investment being made is remarkable, like JSW’s support for the Inspire Institute of Sports and Reliance’s backing of the Olympic movement. These substantial investments reflect a promising future for the sports industry.”
When asked whether cricket, particularly the IPL, is becoming too cluttered with brands eager to associate themselves, Karnik shared his thoughts, saying, “Anything popular is bound to be cluttered, so it doesn’t matter. The key is to effectively tell your story within that space, and if you can do that, there’s nothing to worry about.”
Karnik also discussed the emerging sport that could potentially capture the attention of Indian consumers.
He said, “Pickleball is emerging as a new sport that could capture the attention of Indian consumers. I wouldn’t compare it to team sports like kabaddi, football, or cricket. Instead, it’s more akin to a marathon because it thrives on community participation. Although played by four people at a time, its appeal lies in the growing number of people getting involved, which is why I see it as a community sport.”
“Brands are increasingly gravitating towards this sport, with Unilever’s Dove and ITC’s Bingo making their presence felt in one of the Pickleball leagues,” Karnik mentioned.
Advertisers have already begun investing in Pickleball. So, to me that’s the new sport on the block which will rise faster than expected, he added.
When asked whether it’s accurate to label India as a sporting nation given that cricket is the only major sport that captivates a large portion of the population, Karnik shared his perspective on the country’s broader sporting landscape.
“In my view, we are already a sporting nation. Being a sporting nation isn’t solely about excelling in team sports; it’s more about individual achievements. Eventually, sports are equal to Olympics. If you look at the massive efforts we’re making to build strong contingents for the Olympics, Commonwealth Games, and Asian Games, it’s so huge,” he said.
“Today, there is significant investment from the private sector in training talented athletes for these events. We’ve progressed from merely being a sporting nation to building a legacy, and from here, we are going to be winning the world,” he added.
Earlier, Karnik highlighted the importance of exploring opportunities beyond live sports. When asked how brands can effectively use non-live sports content to engage audiences, he pointed out that from an advertising, marketing, and broadcast perspective, we, as a country, have not invested enough in non-live content.
He added, “Take, for example, the India-Pakistan series launched on Netflix, it was a brilliant series. With proper planning, it could have attracted significant advertising support, especially in terms of integration. For instance, Samsung was prominently featured throughout the 1996 series, but Samsung was not involved in that particular content. Non-live content needs to be reimagined, but currently, it isn’t. There’s still a lot of work to be done at the content level. I believe growth in the sports sector will largely be driven by cricket.”
When discussing the areas of growth in the sports industry this year, Karnik highlighted that the growth of the sports sector will be primarily driven by cricket.
“However, new sports will gradually emerge, especially during major events like the Asian Games or the Commonwealth Games, which will bring individual sports into the spotlight,” he added.
The GroupM TYNY report 2025 highlighted a significant trend in brand storytelling, emphasising the rise of AI influencers and the growing impact of action-oriented campaigns.
Karnik emphasised that influencer marketing has grown tremendously, and he has been discussing it for many years now that endorsers would eventually be held accountable, with brands expecting them to influence decisions rather than endorsing a brand.
“This is the reality we see today- the shift from an endorser to an influencer. But now, we are witnessing the next evolution which is from an endorser to an influencer, and now, to an AI-powered influencer. This means creating my own influencer, my own endorser, my own celebrity, someone who speaks my language, who wakes up when I want, sleeps when I want, and does exactly what I want, when I want,” Karnik said.
When asked whether AI influencers pose a threat to real influencers, Karnik mentioned that these are two distinct ecosystems at play. While brands will increasingly turn to AI-powered influencers, they will still need the emotional connection that only real influencers can provide. This is something irreplaceable.
