Hockey India League

What Hockey India League does

Hockey India League (HIL) is a professional field hockey league in India, currently branded as the Hero Hockey India League under title sponsorship from Hero Motocorp. It operates under the governance of Hockey India, the national governing body for the sport, and runs annual seasons featuring a Men's division and, from 2025-26, a parallel Women's division. The 2025-26 cycle involved 33 matches across franchise-based teams (8 men's franchises including Vedanta Kalinga Lancers, Ranchi Royals, Hyderabad Toofans, Shrachi Bengal Tigers, JSW Soorma Hockey Club, APL Pipers, HIL GC, and Accord Tamil Nadu Dragons, with four of these also fielding women's teams), generating 166 goals and tournament statistics published on the official digital platform.

The core product is a dual-gender franchise sports tournament combined with a content and distribution platform: the official website hockeyindialeague.com hosts team information, match schedules, standings, statistics, news, video highlights, photo galleries, and coffee-table book publications; a companion Hockey India mobile app extends the fan touchpoint. Underlying operations are event-driven rather than technology-driven — match scheduling, player registration, officiating, and tournament rules are administered centrally. Distribution is delivered through three core channels: live match attendance (ticketed via TicketGenie), national television broadcast (Prasar Bharati Sports on the Doordarshan network), and digital streaming (Waves platform).

HIL's revenue model combines title sponsorship (Hero Motocorp), broadcast and streaming rights fees (Prasar Bharati, Waves), commercial partner sponsorships (Bisleri as hydration partner, Apollo Bhubaneswar as medical partner), and ticketing transaction economics through TicketGenie. The customer base is B2C: spectators and field hockey fans consuming live, broadcast, and digital content, plus professional and emerging players seeking competitive Indian league opportunities. Franchise operators (corporate owners of team slots) form a secondary B2B constituency. Pricing of tickets is not publicly disclosed; broadcast and sponsorship pricing is contractual and not disclosed.

Name

Hockey India League

Legal name

Hockey India League

Website

https://hockeyindialeague.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2013

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

101–250 employees

Short description

Hockey India League is a professional field hockey league in India operating men's and women's franchise tournaments under Hockey India's governance, distributed nationally via Prasar Bharati broadcast, Waves streaming, and TicketGenie ticketing.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Professional Sports League

NAICS

Sports Teams and Clubs (711211), Spectator Sports (71121)

SIC

Services-Membership Organizations (8600)

akta.pro primary industry

Field Hockey Leagues (MPAKAAAN)

akta.pro secondary industries

Team Sports Matches (Club & National) (MPAGAMAB), Professional Live Sports Leagues & Tours (MPAGAMAA)

Keywords

• Professional field hockey league
• Sports tournament management
• Franchise sports league
• Live sports broadcasting
• Sports sponsorship rights

Headquarters

HQ city

New Delhi

HQ country

India

HQ region

Asia

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Operations, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure, Personnel

Revenue model

1. Title Sponsorship: The league is currently named 'Hero Hockey India League' with Hero Motocorp as the title sponsor. This sponsorship arrangement provides revenue through branding rights, logo placement, and exclusive naming rights across all tournament materials.
2. Broadcasting and Streaming Rights: Broadcast partner Prasar Bharati Sports and streaming partner Waves provide content distribution. Revenue generated through media rights deals for televised and digital coverage of matches.
3. Partner Sponsorships: Additional revenue streams from Official Hydration Partner (Bisleri), Medical Partner (Apollo Bhubaneswar), and other commercial partners through sponsorship packages.
4. Ticket Sales: Match tickets sold through TicketGenie platform for spectator attendance at league matches.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Hockey India League organizes and operates India's premier professional field hockey tournaments, featuring separate Men's and Women's divisions with 8 franchise teams each. The league runs annual seasons, including player registrations, regular matches, and finals, while distributing content through broadcast and digital channels. It generates value for fans through live match attendance, broadcast viewership, and digital content, and for players through professional playing opportunities.

Product overview

Hockey India League operates as a professional field hockey league with two divisions: Men's Hero Hockey India League and Women's Hero Hockey India League, each featuring 8 teams. The digital platform provides team information, match schedules, live standings, tournament statistics (33 matches, 166 goals, 75 penalty corners), news articles, video highlights, and photo galleries. The league also offers sponsorship opportunities and ticket sales through external partners.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Men's Hero Hockey India League Annual professional field hockey tournament for men's teams, featuring 8 franchises competing in regular season matches and finals. Targeted at sports fans and spectators, with content distributed via Prasar Bharati broadcast and Waves streaming. Players receive professional compensation through the franchise structure.
• Women's Hero Hockey India League Annual professional field hockey tournament for women's teams, featuring 4 franchise teams competing in matches and finals. Targeted at sports fans, with content distributed via broadcast and digital streaming channels.
• Match Attendance Tickets Live match tickets sold through TicketGenie platform allowing spectators to attend Hero Hockey India League 2025-26 matches at physical venues across India. Targeted at individual sports fans and spectators.

Quantifiable outcome

• 166 goals scored across 33 matches in 2025-26 season

Named customers1 record

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Six partnerships are on record, tiered core, minor and flagship.

• Prasar Bharati SportscoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorPrasar Bharati Sports serves as the official broadcast partner, providing national television coverage of all league matches across India through the Doordarshan network.
• WavescoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorWaves is the official streaming partner, providing digital distribution of match content through its streaming platform accessible to viewers across India.
• BisleriminorGTM or Marketing PartnerBisleri serves as the Official Hydration Partner of the Hockey India League, providing hydration products for players and staff during matches and events.
• Apollo BhubaneswarminorOthersApollo Bhubaneswar serves as the Official Medical Partner of the Hockey India League, providing medical support and healthcare services for the tournament.
• TicketGeniecoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorTicketGenie is the official ticketing platform for the Hero Hockey India League 2025-26, handling ticket sales for match attendance through ticketgenie.in.
• Hockey IndiaflagshipStrategic or Co-development PartnerHockey India is the governing body and parent organization of the Hockey India League. The league operates under the Hockey India umbrella, with shared branding (hockeyindia.org) and resources. The parent organization manages player registrations, tournament regulations, and overall sport governance.

Scale indicators9 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Indian Super League (ISL): Indian football league operating on a similar franchise-based model with title sponsorship, broadcast distribution, and pan-India presence. Directly comparable league-as-business structure serving the Indian sports market.
• Premier Hockey League (PHL): Former Indian field hockey league that preceded HIL. Historically relevant comparable as the prior attempt at a franchise-based professional field hockey league in India, valuable for understanding the market's evolution.
• Premier Badminton League (PBL): Indian badminton league with franchise-based team competition model. Similar seasonal tournament structure, broadcast partnerships, and target audience of Indian sports fans.
• Pro Kabaddi League (PKL): India's professional kabaddi league with comparable franchise-based structure, media rights deals, and sponsorship stack. Operates in the same Indian sports ecosystem competing for fan attention and sponsor wallet.
• FIH Hockey Pro League: International field hockey league organized by the International Hockey Federation featuring national teams. Directly comparable as a professional field hockey competition, though operating at international level rather than franchise-based.

Regional players

• Big Bash League (BBL): Australia's professional T20 cricket league operating on a similar franchise-based model with broadcast and sponsorship revenue. Relevant for franchise-league economics benchmarking in a different geography.
• Pakistan Hockey League: Pakistan's professional field hockey league. Direct sport comparable operating in a neighboring South Asian market with similar audience base and cultural ties to hockey.

Broad incumbents

• Indian Premier League (IPL): India's flagship T20 cricket league and the dominant commercial sports league in the country. Same franchise-based league model with title sponsorship, broadcast rights, and centralized revenue model, though operating in cricket rather than field hockey.

Others

• Hockey India: The national governing body for field hockey in India and HIL's parent organization. Operates the official Hockey India app and provides regulatory oversight, player registration, and tournament governance infrastructure.

Emerging players

• Major League Cricket (MLC): Emerging T20 cricket league in the United States. Comparable as a recently established franchise-based league pursuing broadcast deals and sponsorship in a developing market, though in cricket rather than field hockey.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/HockeyIndiaLeag
• Facebookfacebook.com/hockeyindialeague
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/hockey-india-league

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Hockey India League