Pro Wrestling League to defer the second edition of tournament due to money crunch

MUMBAI: Organisers of the Pro Wrestling League (PWL) have decided to defer the second edition of the tournament considering the current hard cash crunch in the country following demonetisation of the Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 currency notes along with restrictions on cash withdrawals.

“PWL 2 is very much on track and that too in a bigger and bolder format. Demonetisation has changed the overall market dynamics and keeping in mind the sentiments and interest of all the shareholders, we have decided to postpone it,” said Vishal Gurnani, director at sports marketing firm ProSportify that organises PWL along with Wrestling Federation of India.

He said the new dates will be announced soon. PWL 2 was scheduled to start on December 15. Market sources told ET that the league could now start on December 27.

“With the sudden demonetisation, the advertisers as well as franchisee owners are in a lurch. So the organisers are working on new dates to allow them to work out the financials,” said a person with the direct knowledge of the development.

He said the organisers have decided to stick to the same format as the first edition with six teams contesting in the 18 days event, shelving plans to add two more teams. Gurnani said the organisers expect a blockbuster season.

“As we speak, our sales teams are busy working on contracts. We are expecting a 150-200% revenue jump over season 1. We have increased the ad rates from Rs 35,000 per 10 seconds in first season to Rs 55,000 per 10 seconds for this season on the basis of the ratings we delivered last year,” he said.

Last year, PWL debut season was held from December 10-27.