Whoa. If only the boys in blue could dominate like this.
Cricbuzz started in 2004, over the last decade and more — they’ve managed to not only remain relevant but also grow. You could argue that its cricket, so relevance is not exactly a problem. But that’s exactly the point — its cricket. In this country it’s religious and people are always looking for new ways to engage with the sport. Cricbuzz has managed to constantly cater to these demanding customers and fight off competition at the same time. Their Indian Language app — creatively named — ‘Cricbuzz — In Indian Languages’ has already got over 7% market share!
Its main competitor is Cricinfo — owned by the ESPN network — started in 1999. Despite the head start and distribution that their TV network offered, Cricinfo is getting decimated in the Indian market. And India as you may know — is the only market that really matters in cricket
I guess this is what #MakeInIndia looks like.
In 2014, Cricbuzz was bought out by Times Internet (What a surprise).
Here’s the thing though — both of Cricbuzz and Cricinfo are still relatively small in the broader scheme of things.
Cricbuzz for example is used by just about 12% of Indian Smartphone owners. As more Indians take to the smartphone and get data — I’m willing to bet that these numbers will go up.
This is a uniquely Indian obsession and it’s an opportunity worth catering to. There’s organic demand here; like the first 100 million internet users in India, the next 100 million will also love cricket. Here’s a graph to show you what I mean:
This what ‘Cricbuzz — In Indian Languages’ and ‘Cricket Live Lines’ growth in Reach looks like. While it will be some time before we can say that Cricket Live Line is a real contender in the space; they’ve got off to an enviable start.
Thanks for your time,
Ashish
- Team KG
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You can reach me on ashish@kalagato.com
