USA based Willow.TV was acquired by Global Cricket Ventures Ltd. (GCV), it was reported yesterday in the VC Circle. 

GCV of Mauritius already owns the prized cricket property - Cricket.com, the non-US digital and mobile rights for Indian Premier League (IPL) and Champions League until 2017 and runs the associated websites - IPLT20.com and CLT20.com.  Willow.TV is the rights holder and online broadcaster of cricket in USA where it has a loyal customer base of well over 1 million registered users.

In November 2009, Elephant Capital invested $10 million in GCV for a 50% equity stake.   Elephant Capital is an AIM listed private equity business whose management includes Gaurav Burman and Mohit Burman of the Dabur family.  Incidentally, Mohit Burman owns a stake in the IPL team - Kings XI Punjab.

Talking about the acquisition of Willow.TV, Gaurav Burman told the VC Circle: "It is inevitable that consumers of all forms of sports and entertainment will take advantage of the huge leap in technology and watch their preferred programming precisely when, where and if they want to, rather than be tethered to the events time or the broadcasters schedule.”

In fact, the acquisition of Willow.TV follows the announcement of IPL’s celebrated deal with Google’s YouTube for live online streaming of IPL matches in several countries (not including USA) which was also facilitated by GCV. 

If USA cricket fans are expecting free streaming video in the USA, please hold your breath, because it is not yet clear if Willow’s acquisition paves the way for free broadcasts in USA via YouTube - a development that would help greatly in promoting the IPL brand in the country.

Staging IPL 2.0 in South Africa greatly enhanced IPL’s reach in that country and resulted in a 680% increase in TV viewership - a good indication that an expansion in advertising opportunities will more than make up for any erosion in subscription revenue from streaming the matches live.  IPL is also planning exploratory forays into the USA market within 18 months, so free live streaming could set the stage for IPL’s arrival.