Times Internet Ltd, the digital arm
of the Times Group, had reached a definitive agreement to acquire Willow TV
International, a leading cricket broadcaster in US. Willow is one of the
fastest growing sports network in the US, featuring popular cricket matches and
events. TIL, has committed $100 Million to the purchase of Willow as its
primary investment into the business, namely right acquisitions and marketing.
Named after the English willow tree
from which crickets bats are made, Willow is the only channel in the US that is
dedicated to cricket. The television channel has an aligned digital service at www.willow.tv. Both the TV channel and its
digital service are widely distributed by satellite, cable, Internet Protocol
Television and OTT platform in the US.
TIL, the digital network of
Bennett, Coleman and Co. Ltd, owns and operates media and technology assets
across news, music, and sports, and claims to reach more than 140 Million users
each month. For TIL, Willow complements the existing audience of cricbuzz.com,
a property that the company acquired in November 2014. Last year, during the ICC
World Cup 2015, cricbuzz saw more than one billion visits in a span of 40 days
with 96% of these on mobile.
Cricket is one of the fastest
growing sports in the US, and the second most popular sport in the world behind
soccer. In the last few years, cricket popularity has increased with the
addition of the newer shorter Twenty20 format. Willow will provide a live US
television broadcast and live streaming of the ICC World Twenty20 the world’s
premier Twenty20 cricket tournament.
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