MUMBAI: Even as the COVID-19 pandemic has wreaked havoc on the sporting calendar, all of which has come to a screeching halt right now, fantasy gaming platforms are at “sixes and sevens” as they need live sporting events to feed off and that source has dried up.
So it should come as no surprise that the likes of Dream11, India’s dominant fantasy gaming platform with a 75-million strong user base, is having to scout ever further afield in its search for live content.
Taiwan’s Taipei Times reported that “an Internet streaming platform based in Mumbai, has contacted Taiwan Cricket asking for rights to stream games in Taipei to its cricket-starved audience, which it put at 75 million people”. Though no names were disclosed, it is a no brainer that only Dream11 fits this particular bill.
The daily further reported that “another India-based live sports streaming platform” was seeking a “Taiwan cricket partnership”.
According to Taipei Times, both entities “were promising global reach through their platforms with live content for users”.
They also said that they were looking at basketball and soccer in Taiwan.
For the record, Taiwan Cricket — which is not recognized by the government — promotes the sport and organizes games among teams on the island nation.
There are up to five sides who could potentially be part of a broadcast competition at the Yingfeng Cricket Ground in Taipei’s Songshan District: Pakistan Cricket Club Taipei, the Hsinchu Titans, the Taipei Dragons, Indian Cricket Club Taipei and Formosa Cricket Club.
Taiwan Cricket officials told the daily that it was seeking advice from the teams and Taipei broadcasters to determine whether a deal was possible.
An upgrade to the cricketing infrastructure in Taipei would be of great benefit — a real investment in the game — if a deal is to be made, it said.
It said that it was speaking with the Indian firms and was planning to start broadcasting “games on Saturday next week”.
Cricket in India, as with almost all top sports leagues worldwide, has been postponed, with the Indian Premier League (IPL) delayed and a worst case scenario being the season getting cancelled altogether.
