Dream Sports, the company behind Dream11, just bought a piece of Cricbuzz from Times Internet for $50 million. It also bought a stake in Willow TV, a cricket broadcaster in the U.S.
As you probably know, Dream11’s core business is fantasy sports. But no thanks to new taxes and regulatory friction, their business isn’t looking so good lately. Revenue projections are down, growth is slowing, and they haven’t raised fresh money since 2021.
Cricbuzz, meanwhile, has hundreds of millions of monthly visits. That too mostly young users which is exactly the kind of crowd Dream11 wants to tap in to. And Willow TV brings in the U.S. diaspora just when cricket is having its moment in the US, driven largely by South Asian immigrants. The country even hosted the T20 World Cup last year. Together, the two open the doors for Dream Sports to expand, engage, and maybe also survive.
But here’s the real kicker. Dream Sports only bought a minority stake. Why play small in a high-stakes game? And who’s actually the real winner in all of this?
Tune in to find out.
Join The Ken as a Podcast Producer and work with India's most ambitious storytellers! We’re creating a podcast about India’s biggest companies, with each episode backed by weeks of deep research. You’ll lead the workflows that turn that research into exceptional narratives and bring the show to listeners around the world. Join us to help shape something exceptional. Check out the details and apply
here.
What is Daybreak?
Business news is complex and overwhelming. It doesn’t have to be. Every day of the week, from Monday to Friday, Daybreak tells one business story that’s significant, simple and powerful.
Hosted from The Ken’s newsroom by Snigdha Sharma and Rachel Varghese, Daybreak relies on years of original reporting and analysis by some of India’s most experienced and talented business journalists.