Dubai-based Channel 2 Group, which has acquired radio broadcast rights for global sporting events including the ICC World Cup, announced the launch of Internet radio channel >cricketfreeq.com today. This will be followed up with a portal for soccer, soccerfreeq.com. The initial investment in the venture is Rs 135 crore.

The intent is to emerge as the ‘largest sports Internet radio player globally by 2015', said Mr Ajay Sethi, Chairman, Channel 2 Group. The cricket portal will offer live commentary on all World Cup matches and analysis. Former players Kapil Dev, Sunil Gavaskar and Clive Lloyd have been roped in as expert commentators.

The platform will be powered by social media applications, explained Amit Tripathi, Director, Cricketfreeq. Speaking to Business Line , he said, “We are a social media-powered platform. The commentary will be hosted on our site, while a whole lot of applications will drive the platform.” It has been 10 days since the launch of cricketfreeq.com, and an estimated 45,000 users visited the site during the India-England match on Sunday, he said.

“By the end of the World Cup, we hope to have between 2.5 lakh and 3 lakh users, of which 60 per cent would be from India,” added Tripathi. He estimates that around 35 per cent of those coming on to the site would do so from their mobile phones.

The company has tied up with Reliance Communications as its exclusive partner to distribute broadcast content on mobile networks. Global content tie-ups include those with terrestrial radio channels Sirius XM (North America), Channel4 Radio Network (West Asia) and CMC Corporation (the Caribbean).

Sponsors on board for the World Cup broadcast so far are MoneyGram, SpiceJet and Travel Port.

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