India and Cricket goes hand in hand. While it is mainly the team and the players that hog the limelight, that is not the case now. CricFan TV has now made it easier for fans to voice their opinion. The enterprise is making huge move forwards with their podcasts, fun and interactive games, either moto – the game remains for the fans.
“CricFan TV was put forward after we had huge success with fan driven content around football in UK. We realised there is a fan culture around fan content. We realised that fans are the flagbearers of the sport. The Indian cricket fans are by far the greatest fans on earth, we thought this would be a great way to build the fan community,” said Marc Hayward, the owner of CricFan TV.
The entity is based out of Mumbai with some huge named producers who have already established their names in the Indian Broadcast market. Hayward claims since fans are the flagbearers of the sport, it is only natural to grow the fan community by creating content with huge involvement of the fans.
Challenges in India
India has the biggest sporting market, claims Hayward. With a country that goes in frenzy about cricket, the 2024 calendar it is a cricket marathon in India. The season started with WPL, followed by IPL 2024 and then the ICC T20 World Cup. While other bilateral series will be there featuring India, the Women’s Team will also take part in the Women’s T20 World Cup later this year.
“We are pleased with how things are going. We struggled a lot with social media engagement. But then as the numbers started to grow, we got approached by broadcasters to help in live shows and other stats driven content,” Hayward added.
“We have seen the Western world starting trend, especially the USA. But now, in India where we have the best fans in cricket, it is paramount that we transcend these trends into mainstream. You have the NBA, the NFL and the IPL is there, it is a huge business,” Marc chirped.
CricFan TV Shows
There are a wide number of shows, and podcasts for fans to enjoy. Be it a nice little quiz game or a podcast where a fan can voice their opinion, CricFan TV provides it all. With the world revolving around social media, Cricket Chirps appeals to the Gen Z and the millennial audiences.
Women’s cricket too takes a huge priority. There is a special show named ‘Queens of Cricket’ whose sole aim is to promote Women’s cricket. “We recognize that women’s cricket in India is on the cusp of becoming the next big big thing. This show aims to spotlight the exceptional women cricketers who are not just breaking records but also transcending boundaries, bringing them closer to their fans,” Hayward concluded.
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