Indian technology and fantasy sports firm Dream Sports is investing $50 million into two platforms owned by Indian digital media group Times Internet, it has been revealed.
As was announced earlier this week, Dream Sports is taking a strategic minority interest in cricket-focused North American broadcaster Willow TV, and in cricket-specific online hub Cricbuzz, through this investment. Between them, the platforms are claimed to have over 185 million monthly users across 150 million countries.
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Willow TV is the International Cricket Council (ICC) major event broadcast partner across the US and Canada through a deal announced in March 2023, which runs through 2027, and also shows a wide range of other national team series and franchise Twenty20 leagues. It was acquired by Times Internet in 2016.
Across the last few major global cricket tournaments, it has strategically partnered with Cricbuzz, creating the collaborative platform 'Willow by Cricbuzz'. This has seen Willow TV live-streaming incorporated as an option into Cricbuzz’s online site, for US and Canadian fans, with in-match clips now also available.
Satyan Gajwani, vice chair at Times Internet (the digital arm of The Times of India Group), said: "Cricbuzz and Willow sit at the heart of how hundreds of millions of fans follow cricket every day. We're excited to work with Dream Sports to reimagine and develop new ways to collaboratively create new experiences for cricket fans across the planet."
Harsh Jain, co-founder and chief executive at Dream Sports, added: "Dream Sports' mission is to 'make sports better' for Indian sports fans. Cricbuzz and Dream11 have worked together for over a decade, and with this investment, all cricket fans can expect much more fan engagement, interactive streams, and integrated commerce experiences."
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By GlobalDataThe Avendus Capital firm acted as the sole financial advisor covering this transaction.
Earlier this month, Dream Sports and global tech giant Microsoft entered into a strategic partnership through the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU).
The MoU aims to facilitate collaboration between both companies in delivering innovative and immersive gaming for the Indian market.
Dream Sports is a prominent player in India’s sports and entertainment market through its Dream11 fantasy sports gaming app and the FanCode sports streaming service.
It is also a part-owner of English lower-league soccer club Salford City (as part of a consortium, alongside global soccer icon David Beckham).
Dream11 is a partner of many major sports properties in India. For example, it has been the official fantasy game partner of the Indian Premier League high-profile Twenty20 tournament. FanCode, meanwhile, holds rights in India to competitions such as golf's PGA Tour and motorcycling's MotoGP.
