As India globalises, however, sports broadcasters are hoping that the Indian viewer's heart starts beating with increasing fervour for football too.
After all, the World Cup has left a lot of football fans clamouring for more action. Switch on ESPN on weekends, you might find Manchester United battling another team in the English Premier League.
Move to Zee Sports, you will have Mohun Bagan playing the likes of FC Dempo, while European powerhouses like AC Milan and Real Madrid have a kickfest in the Champions League on Ten Sports.
Broadcasters are going out of their way to have football on the menu for sports lovers. And they are doing it in style.
Gary Lovejoy, chief operating officer, Zee Sports, feels that it is high time people started taking football seriously. "Football is a game which follows the tribalism route," he says,
"One has to feel the bonding and connect with the sport, which is lacking in India."
Footballing associations could promote the game city-by-city with help from the government, he adds.
Zee's bet is that an interest in domestic football (it telecasts National Football League, Federation Cup and Santosh Trophy games) could translate into bigger audiences.
Ten Sports, meanwhile, plans a host of activities as the Champions League progresses, including on-air
contests, promotions and screenings.
"We would be targeting traditional football markets like Kolkata, Cochin, Mumbai and Hyderabad, as well as non-traditional ones like Delhi and the rest of north India," says Rakesh Rao, director of marketing and communication, Ten Sports.
But hoopla around the sport can only go so far and no more. Lovejoy feels it is the delivery of the action that matters.
"We may have a lot of marketing activities, which are necessary," he says, "but then if the viewer is not getting quality broadcast, he won't stick along."
Luckily for broadcasters, advertisers are enthusiastic too. For example, Nokia and Samsung are already on board with ESPN, while Oil and Natural Gas Corporation may well be supporting Zee, which intends to broadcast other leagues such as Italian Series A and the League Cup from England, apart from local ties.
"There is huge demand for better footballing action," says Rao, "and one can't focus on cricket all 365 days...." The term "huge demand" needs to be qualified, though.
The television ratings are not too flattering yet, and a truly passionate football fan in the Indian arena of fanhood is about as rare as a truly passionate fan of, say, Michelangelo or M F Husain. But that's saying something, still.
Do you want to discuss stock tips? Do you know a hot one? Join the Stock Market Investments Discussion Group
