‘UTT’s biggest strength is its low-cost model’
Into the sixth season after its debut in 2017, the league hasn’t quite rocketed in the country’s leagues ecosystem, but has taken steady strides
Mumbai: Table tennis in India tends to largely be associated with the metro cities, from where a big chunk of the country’s top players also come.
However, television viewership pattern of last year’s Ultimate Table Tennis (UTT), India’s TT league that will begin its sixth season from May 31 in Ahmedabad, threw an interesting curveball. From the uptick in the total watch time from 129 million minutes to 167 million minutes during the fifth season, states like Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh contributed nearly 40% through the regional language feed, as per TV viewership data provided by the organisers.
“We started (UTT) thinking that it will only be the metros, but we realised that at any given point of time most people play TT, be it for recreational or entertainment purposes. We are happy if tier 2 and tier 3 cities get involved with the game. Many people can connect to the sport. We’ve got to capitalise on that advantage,” said Vita Dani, co-promoter of UTT.
Into the sixth season after its debut in 2017 -- it wasn’t held during the pandemic years -- the league hasn’t quite rocketed in the country’s leagues ecosystem, but has taken steady strides. From six teams in the first four seasons, it now has eight teams with Jaipur and Ahmedabad adding to franchise representation from Bengaluru, Delhi, Goa, Chennai, Mumbai and Pune. One franchise, said Dani, is already making money and another has broken even.
A few leagues across sports in India have been through boom and bust in quick time, notably in badminton, hockey (it was revived earlier this year), and volleyball. Dani said table tennis’ sustainability is down to the league’s low-cost model, as well as having centralised logistics. Every season is held at one venue, and taken to different cities thus far. Ahmedabad is another experiment in “testing new geographical areas”.
“Our biggest strength as a league is that we’re a real low-cost model,” Dani said. “We have tried to make it centralised to ensure that the franchises stay interested. We are very mindful of the money that we spend. It needs to be spent well, not just because somebody else is spending. More franchises have come in, which means more people see value in this property.”
The initial years, Dani did acknowledge, were about testing the waters to run a league in a sport that isn’t fully mainstream yet even though it is gaining popularity with India’s rising stocks in TT.
“In Season 1, we had only one sponsor. Last year, every possible property was sold out. There are different spenders — people who spend at the IPL (Indian Premier League) level, and those who spend at other levels. We are okay to be in any category, as long as there is money coming into the game,” Dani said.
“I don’t think we are a unique league. Every league has evolved, be it IPL or PKL (Pro Kabaddi League). The key is to innovate.”
The sixth season, that will run from May 31 to June 12, will have a Chinese player for the first time. Fan Siqi, the women’s world No.35, was acquired by Chennai Lions at the auction held last month.
