Dream11 parent to invest $50 million in Cricbuzz, Willow TV

Willow TV currently holds the rights to broadcast International Cricket Council (ICC) events in the United States and Canada through the end of 2027.

Dream Sports, the parent company of fantasy sports major Dream11, will invest $50 million in cricket destination Cricbuzz and North American cricket broadcaster Willow TV for a minority stake as part of its efforts to enhance fan engagement, including commerce-related experiences.

The companies plan to collaborate on providing real-time analysis and statistics, engagement and commerce integrations, and artificial intelligence-driven predictions and personalisation into the product, Dream Sports and Times Internet said in a joint statement on May 14. Times Internet owns Cricbuzz and Willow TV.

"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 that will bring them closer to the action and to each other," Dream Sports co-founder Harsh Jain said.

Dream Sports houses brands such as sports content and commerce platform FanCode, sports experiences platform DreamSetGo, mobile game development unit Dream Game Studios, and sports-based virtual trading platform Sixer, apart from Dream11. The company has 250 million users.

Willow TV holds the rights to broadcast International Cricket Council (ICC) events in the United States and Canada through the end of 2027. The agreement, signed in March 2023, covers 14 international tournaments, including the men’s, women’s, and Under-19 World Cups.

Willow TV streams over 1,500 live matches a year to fans in the US and Canada and has expanded footprint into the Middle East and SouthEast Asia, it said.

Times Internet acquired Willow TV in 2016 and Cricbuzz in 2014. Together, they claim to deliver scores, analysis, highlights, and live matches to more than 185 million fans each month across over 150 countries.

"We’re excited to work with Dream Sports to reimagine and develop new ways to collaboratively create new experiences for cricket fans," Satyan Gajwani, vice chairman, Times Internet, said.

This investment by Dream Sports comes shortly after the sports tech major joined the ownership group of Salford City Football Club, an English fourth-division club, last week.

The group is led by sporting legends David Beckham and Gary Neville, along with US-based businessman Declan Kelly and Lord Mervyn Davies, who will both serve as new co-chairs on the club’s board.

Shravin Mittal, the son of Bharti Group founder Sunil Bharti Mittal and founder of London-headquartered investment firm Unbound, is also part of the ownership group.

Dream Sports shifted its domicile from Delaware, United States, to India in March, joining the ranks of several top Indian startups moving their base back to the home country.

Founded in 2008 by Jain and Bhavit Sheth, Dream Sports was last valued at $8 billion when it bagged a $840 million funding round led by Falcon Edge, DST Global, D1 Capital, Redbird Capital, Tiger Global, TPG and Footpath Ventures in November 2021.