Willow, the North American cricket-centric platform launched in its current iteration earlier this year, has launched a new free ad-supported streaming TV (FAST) channel.
Named Willow Sports, the FAST channel has launched on the FuboTV, DistroTV, Plex, Free Live Sports, YuppTV, Sling Freestream, and KaroStream services.
The FAST channel will showcase live match broadcasts, re-broadcasts of classic matches from cricket history, ancillary content, shoulder programming, and more.
This started with Willow’s coverage of the 2024 International Cricket Council (ICC) Women’s Twenty20 (T20) World Cup, from which it will air select fixtures – beginning with the anticipated Australia vs India matchup on October 13 (which Australia won, meaning India are likely to be knocked out at the group stage of the tournament).
Further competitions broadcast on Willow Sports will include select other ICC formats and the high-profile Indian Premier League.
Speaking on the announcement, Willow chief operating officer Todd Myers stated: “Over the past year, cricket’s popularity has skyrocketed in North America, largely fueled by USA’s stunning victory over Pakistan in the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup and the second season of Major League Cricket.”
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“With this growing enthusiasm, Willow Sports will bring cricket further into the spotlight, offering free access to some of the most exciting matches and tournaments. American cricket fans have never had greater access to the second most popular sport in the world.”
Willow TV is owned by India’s Times of India major media group.
It agreed a broadcast carriage deal with sports OTT platform FuboTV earlier in 2024 ahead of the men’s 2024 T20 World Cup, which was hosted in the US and which saw that country score a major upset against Pakistan.
The tournament was the first-ever major ICC event to be part-hosted by the US, one of cricket’s great untapped markets.
USA Cricket, the governing body for the sport in the country, has targeted having one million participants in cricket in the US by 2028, when the sport will return to the Olympic Games (which will be hosted in the US in Los Angeles.
