Times Internet, the digital arm of the Times of India media group, has reached a deal to acquire Willow TV International, a cricket-dedicated broadcaster in the US.
The agreement marks the first international acquisition by Times Internet, and the first US acquisition for The Times of India Group, India’s largest media company.
Times Internet director Satyan Gajwani told Indian newspaper the Economic Times that the company has committed $100m (€90.7m) to the purchase and its primary investment in the business, comprising rights acquisitions, marketing and growing cricket in the United States.
The purchase of Willow is envisioned to be complementary to Times Internet’s recent acquisition of online platform Cricbuzz. Between Willow, Cricbuzz, and Times of India’s digital assets, the group estimates reaching approximately 15 million Americans with an interest in cricket.
The announcement of the deal comes with Willow set to exclusively live broadcast and stream the World Twenty20 to US audiences when the national team tournament commences in India on March 8. This will be the first time an International Cricket Council tournament will be available on a US television broadcast channel, expanding its reach beyond the traditional 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 US digital audiences.
Gajwani said in a statement: “Cricket is one of the most popular sports in the world, and has the potential to become a major sport in the US.”
Willow and its TV Everywhere service is widely distributed by US satellite, cable, IPTV and OTT platforms. Willow is available on seven of the top 10 pay-television platforms in the US.