Dream11 revamp turns fantasy sports app into a hangout place for sports fans

Dream Sports CEO Harsh Jain

Sports technology major Dream Sports on December 4 unveiled a revamped version of Dream11, expanding it from a fantasy sports platform to a hangout spot for fans built around creators and livestreamers.

"We are now a second-screen sports entertainment platform," Dream Sports co-founder Harsh Jain said in a media briefing. "Dream11 will always be the popcorn to your movie."

The launch comes a little over three months after Dream11 halted all paid contests, which contributed 95 percent to is revenue and all of its profits.

The move followed the online gaming law that prohibits money games, where a user makes a deposit, directly or indirectly, with the expectation of earning winnings on that deposit.

"Sports has crazy emotion, so it feels depressing to watch a match alone. We all want to watch the match together but no one has the time to make a plan or watch it in person. Think of this like having friends in the room," Jain said.

What does the new Dream11 app have?

The new Dream11 app allows users to follow matches through livestreams by prominent creators as they share quick insights, match stats and break down key moments. People can engage with the livestreamers through chats and reactions.

Jain said Dream11 has onboarded 25 creators and will continue onboarding more people. "We want to be careful about quality versus quantity in the beginning," he said.

The company has upgraded its loyalty programme, rebranding it as DreamBucks. Consumers can earn DreamBucks by watching the live streams and spend it to give "shoutouts" to creators or keep their chats pinned during streams.

Creators will take the lion's share of revenues, while Dream11 will take a smaller share, Jain said.

The app will also feature a "moments" tab that will offer a recap of key moments from livestreams, including funny moments, witty comments and match stats. It won't offer match footage or clips.

In an interview to Moneycontrol in August, Jain had said the company would focus on the creator economy. “We've seen some amazing things within the creator economy system on Dream11 for fantasy sports,” he said.

When did Dream11 shift its business model?

Dream11 shifted to a free-to-play model, supported by ads and sponsorships in August. The company said it had onboarded brands such as Swiggy, Astrotalk and Tata Neu as advertisers.

In September, the platform reported 10 million daily active players and more than 250 million total users.

Dream11 began its international expansion in October by launching its free-to-play platform in 11 countries, including the United States, the United Kingdom, Australia and the United Arab Emirates.

It also also rolled out a fantasy sports feature, Flex, which allows users to create their own leagues and customise rules based on their preferences.

Also Read: FanCode turns to AI to make sports streaming smarter and more personal

How will this app revamp help Dream11?

The new creator-focused update will enable Dream11 to tackle the crucial drop-off in user activity during matches. By bringing in-match conversations onto the platform, the company would be able to keep the fans involved throughout the entire fixture.

One can create fantasy teams before the match begins and then dive straight into creator-led "watch along" livestreams.

Also Read: Dream11 parent open sources its tech engine with Dream Horizon

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

Apart from Dream11, Dream Sports also houses brands such as sports content and commerce platform FanCode, sports experiences platform DreamSetGo, mobile game development unit Dream Game Studios, fixed deposits and gold investment app Dream Money, and its philanthropic arm Dream Sports Foundation.

Earlier this year, Moneycontrol reported that Dream Sports introduced an AI-powered cricket companion app CRIQ, which has now been rebranded as Rushline. The app offers live scores, AI-driven predictions and statistics in a freemium model, with monthly plans priced at Rs 249 and annual plans at Rs 1,999 for premium features and advanced AI insights.