Baseball may soon "face a new era of competition from an unlikely global upstart: cricket," according to James Crabtree of the FINANCIAL TIMES. On Thursday, The Times of India Group, the newspaper arm of India’s largest media conglomerate, Bennett Coleman & Co., unveiled a $100M "drive to expand the game" in the U.S., beginning with the acquisition of Willow TV, America’s largest cricket broadcaster. The move is the latest in "a series of steps to raise cricket's profile" in the U.S., the world's biggest sports market. Last month the Int'l Cricket Council "set up a series of steering groups to help build its operations and grow its influence in baseball’s back yard." ESPN, the U.S. sports cable network, also now airs live cricket matches, drawn in by the popularity of the sport's more TV-friendly "Twenty20" format. Times of India Group Exec Satyan Gajwani said that cricket was "already the world's second most popular team sport, adding that the shorter format had helped the game ditch its staid image, attracting younger audiences and more advertising." He said, "We have a long way to go, but look at how popular soccer has become in America over the last 20 years. There's no reason cricket can't do even better over the next 20" (FT, 3/3). PTI reported for Times Internet, Willow "would complement its own online cricket platform Cricbuzz." Gajwani said, "Willow is complimentary to our existing audience and presence with cricbuzz.com, in a market with high-value, affluent consumers with a propensity to pay for content." Named after the English willow tree from which cricket bats are made, Willow is "one of the fastest growing sports networks" in the U.S., featuring cricket matches and events and it is widely distributed by satellite, cable, IPTV and OTT platforms. Willow TV Int'l Founder & CEO Vijay Srinivasan said, "With the backing of The Times of India Group and its assets, I am confident that we can jointly build one of the premier sports businesses in the U.S." (PTI, 3/3). BUSINESS INSIDER reported the "timing of the deal is also significant." Starting on March 8, Willow will exclusively provide a live U.S. TV broadcast and live stream "of the ICC World Twenty20, the world's premier Twenty20 cricket tournament." This is the first time an ICC tournament has been available on a U.S. TV broadcast channel, "expanding its reach beyond the traditional and expensive pay-per-view distribution method." In parallel, Cricbuzz will "exclusively deliver pre-match, in-match, and post-match highlights and coverage of the entire tournament" to U.S. digital audiences (BUSINESS INSIDER, 3/3). In N.Y., Joe Flint reported the buyer has promised to help expand the sport in the U.S. -- "like educating the American audience on a six, which is akin to a home run in baseball." There has been a "push in recent years to build a following for cricket in the U.S." ESPN aired cricket live on its ESPN2 channel and last year "it sold the Cricket World Cup directly to consumers" via pay-per-view at a price of $100. ESPN President John Skipper said that "100,000 subscriptions to the tournament were sold." Among other U.S. media giants, 21st Century Fox has "focused its cricket interest on India itself." Its Star India unit "has become a major player in coverage of the sport" (WALL STREET JOURNAL, 3/3).
