FanCode, India’s premier digital sports destination, has bagged exclusive four-year broadcast rights for England and Wales Cricket Board’s (ECB) new format cricket competition – The Hundred, in India.
The action-packed 100-ball cricket competition will include 68 matches played over five weeks starting July 21, 2021. The game has eight women’s and men’s teams from major cities across England and Wales.
ECB’s The Hundred is an entirely new format of cricket. It has 100 balls per innings, wherein the bowling changes ends every ten balls. Bowlers deliver either five or ten consecutive balls, and each bowler can deliver a maximum of 20 balls per game. A 25-ball powerplay for each team allows two fielders outside of the initial 30-yard circle. Each of the eight squads will have 15 players with a maximum of three overseas stars.
The partnership between ECB and Dream Sports, the parent company of Dream11 and FanCode, is a comprehensive sports deal. FanCode will be the Official Broadcast Partner in India and Dream11 an Official Partner.
Commenting on the development, Tony Singh, Chief Commercial Officer, England and Wales Cricket Board, said: “The Hundred is a new, innovative, cricket competition featuring some of the world’s top players, and we’re excited that fans in India will be able to enjoy the action. We’re sure it will be a big hit with fans across the globe. As both FanCode and Dream11 are at the forefront of transforming digital sports engagement and experience in India, we are thrilled to partner with them to bring the most comprehensive and immersive sports experience for Indian cricket fans.”
Talking about the partnership, Prasana Krishnan, Co-Founder of FanCode, said: “We are excited to bring The Hundred to our rapidly growing fan base in India. Continuous digital innovation in creating unmatched sports viewing and engagement experience is an important part of our customer promise, and The Hundred, with its unique format, fits in perfectly with what we at FanCode stand for.”
Commenting on this, Vikrant Mudaliar, Chief Marketing Officer at Dream Sports, said, “We are thrilled to launch a comprehensive partnership with ECB for their new and exciting cricket tournament, ‘The Hundred’, with both Dream11 and FanCode. Through this partnership, we hope to drive fan engagement for The Hundred by reaching over 120 million Dream Sports fans in India. ‘The Hundred’ offers a truly innovative format, and we are confident that cricket fans will love this new sporting experience.”