Daybreak - Cricbuzz might boost Dream11’s reach but it's Times Internet that really scored

Episode Date: June 15, 2025

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.

Hi, this is Rohan Dharma Kumar. If you've heard any of the Ken's podcasts, you've probably heard me, my interruptions, my analogies, and my contrarian takes on most topics. And you might rightly be wondering why am I interrupting this episode too. It's for a special announcement. For the last few months, I and Sita Raman Ganeshan, my colleague and the Ken's deputy editor, have been working on an ambitious new podcast. It's called Intermission.

We want to tell the secret sauce stories of India's greatest companies. Stories of how they were born, how they fought to survive, how they build their organizations and culture, how they manage to innovate and thrive over decades, and most importantly, how they're poised today. To do that, Sita and I have been reading books, poring over reports, going through financial statements, digging up archives, and talking to dozens of people. And if that wasn't enough, we also decided to throw in video into the mix. Yes, you heard that right. Intermission has also had to find its footing in the world of multi-camera shoots in professional studios, laborious editing, and extensive post-production. Sita and I are still reeling from the intensity of our first studio recording.

Intermission launches on March 23rd. To get alert, as soon as we release our first video. episode, please follow intermission on Spotify and Apple Podcast or subscribe to the Ken's YouTube channel. You can find all of the links at the ken.com slash I am. With that, back to your episode. Are you a cricket fan? If you are, then I have a question for you. Where do you get your online updates from? I mean, score, player stats, team ranking, etc. I think the chances of you responding saying ESPN Crick info. are pretty low, because everybody uses CrigBuzz, including you, I'm guessing, which is what

makes this story quite interesting. You see, Dream Sports, the folks behind Dream 11, just dropped $50 million to buy a piece of Crick Buzz from Times Internet. It also bought Willow TV, a cricket broadcaster in the US. Now, at first glance, it looks like a typical media investment, but dig a little deeper and it is a whole different ballgame going on. As you probably know, Dream 11's core business is fantasy sports. But no thanks to the new taxes and regulatory friction, their business is, well, not looking so dreamy anymore. Revenue projections are down, growth is slowing and they have not raised fresh money since 2021. Crickbuzz, meanwhile, has reached hundreds of millions of monthly visits. That too, mostly young users, which is exactly the kind of crowd Dream 11 wants to keep

on a leash. And Willow TV brings the US diaspora just in time. Cricket is having its moment in the US, driven largely by South Asian immigrants. You will remember that the country even hosted the T20 World Cup last year. Together, the two opened the doors for Dream Sports to expand, engage, and maybe also survive. But here is the real kicker. You see, dream sports did not buy control. It was just a minority stake. So why play small in a high stakes game? And who is actually the real winner in all of this? Welcome to Daybreak, a business podcast from the Ken. I'm your host, Nick Da Sharma, and I don't chase the news cycle. Instead, every day of the week, my colleague Rahal Philipos and I will come to you with one business story that is worth understanding and worth your time.

Today is Monday, the 16th of June. Let us start with the basics. Dream Sports just picked up a minority stake in CrickBuzz and Willow TV for $50 million. Now, it is not just a random media purchase. It is a timely move aimed at expanding their real money gaming business into new markets. Here is the context. Indian fantasy sports platforms are feeling the pinch right now. Tax changes have already knocked projected revenues down by 10% for the financial year 2025.

Dream Sports has not raised money since 2021, like I told you earlier, when it was valued at $8 billion. And now, the word is that they have slashed their FY24-a-tar targets by 80%. So this deal is not just about growth. It is a move to strengthen the core business. As Deepa Malesh from Fans Town Entertainment told my colleague the Ken reporter Goref Bagur, both Dream 11 and CrickBuzz are in the business of fan engagement, just from different angles. And that synergy is exactly what Dream Sports is banking on. CrickBuzz saw over 400 million monthly visits between February and April alone.

That is more than twice of what ESPN CrickInfo managed in the same period. Most users are aged between 18 and 34 right in Dream 11's sweet spot. A gaming industry executive put it best. They said everyone in the ideal customer profile of Dream 11 follows cricket. That is a dream funnel for any business. Massive reach, low customer acquisition cost and high engagement potential. Plus, CrickBuzz has something money cannot easily buy, which is brand loyalty. A strategy executive told Akken that they have never seen anyone use another cricket app on Mumbai local trains.

That is the kind of cultural embedment that Dream Sports now has access to thanks to Crickbus. And then there is Willow TV. The platform reaches over 5 million cricket fans across the US and Canada. And in a country where legalized sports betting is booming, that is a major foot in the door. Hirschgen, the DreamSpot CEO, said that the investment would bring more interactive streams and integrated commerce. Basically, more ways to hook fans in and keep them close. But it's not all smooth sailing.

Stay tuned for the next segment. It's not just DreamSpots that is facing turbulence. The media world is not exactly thriving either. AI has been shaking up the ad revenue model and platforms like CrickBuzz, which rely heavily on Google search traffic are vulnerable. Still, DreamSpotts sees this as a long-term play. Beyond just content and audiences. CrickBuzz is a gold mine for something else as well, which is data.

They partner with cricket boards to manage scoring and stats. Dream Sports can now plug into that infrastructure. This will help them improve latency, reduce data manipulation, and make gameplay on Dream11 more seamless. And that is a back-end upgrade with real impact. And CrickBuzz opens doors to sponsors who might have been hesitant to work directly with a fantasy sports brand. Dream 11 already sponsors the Indian team and major IPL franchises, but CrickBuzz could attract advertisers sitting on the fence. But there is still something that doesn't quite add up. Dream Sports only bought a 15% stake. Why?

The thing is, owning more would mean extra compliance and having to consolidate CrickBuzz's accounts. Because right now, DreamSpots might just be testing the waters. Plus, according to Times Internet, there is no option to buy more. So, while DreamSpots gets reach and tech benefits, Times Internet keeps control. And they have done this before. Times Internet has been offloading assets and doing it really well. They sold MX Takatuck to share chat for $700 million, got Amazon to take MX player, and all that after revenue stagnation across the board.

So this CrickBass deal might be their smartest move yet. They bought it cheap back in 2014. Now CrickBuzz's current revenue is around 400 croreep. And back then, it was just around 40 to 50 crores. If you imagine this deal as a fresh issue of shares, what DreamSports essentially did is injected capital into a business Times Internet was not ready to grow any further. One executive actually put it quite bluntly. Times Internet is walking away with real money, while DreamSports gets reach, relevance and maybe a lifeline.

But does this deal actually move the needle? CrickBuzz is already the market leader. It is not expected to grow at 25 to 30% CAGR anytime soon. Despite DreamSpot's recent bets like Dreamset Go and the streaming platform fan code, they are still very much in the gaming business. This investment does not diversify Dreams revenue. It strengthens it. And maybe for now, that is enough.

Because while DreamSpots is out here trying to keep fans engaged and regulators happy, Times Internet just did what it does best. Quietly cash out at the peak. Daybreak is produced from the newsroom of TV. the Ken, India's first subscriber-focused business news platform. What you're listening to is just a small sample of our subscriber-only offerings. A full subscription unlocks daily long-form feature stories, newsletters and podcast extras. Disubscribe, head to the Ken.com and click on the red subscribe button on top of the Ken website.

Today's episode was hosted by Snigda Sharma and edited by Rajiv Siyah.