Cricket consumes 85% of Indian sports media spending. The "other sports rising" narrative is wishful thinking.

Cricket in India consumes 85% of total sports media spending, 80% of sponsorship revenue, and 90%+ of national sporting conversation. The "other sports rising" narrative has been around for two decades and hasn't materially shifted the share. ISL, PKL, IBL, hockey have all had moments — none have structurally challenged cricket's dominance. The reason is generational entrenchment: cricket's talent pipeline, infrastructure, and broadcast economics compound on themselves. A new sport entering the Indian market faces a chicken-and-egg problem — no broadcast revenue without viewers, no viewers without star players, no star players without economics. For the foreseeable future, cricket is Indian sport.