Gaming
Eurosport and GCN gear up for Tour de France 2021 coverage
Mumbai: The iconic bike race speeds back onto screens this summer as the crème de la crème of cycling come together to battle for the yellow jersey. Capturing every stage, every sprint and every climb, Discovery-owned broadcaster Eurosport and its Global Cycling Network (GCN) are all set to live-stream 2021 Tour de France for viewers in more than 60 markets across Europe and Asia.
With total exclusivity in 35 markets, Eurosport and GCN will offer live, on-demand and ad-free coverage of every stage of Le Tour via its digital platforms the Eurosport App and GCN+. For the first time, Discovery’s global streaming service discovery+ will also show all the action via Eurosport with Eurosport 1 also offering live broadcasts of every stage, it said in a statement.
Eurosport and GCN’s international experts Sir Bradley Wiggins and Alberto Contador will offer LIVE insights to viewers in the UK and Spain respectively. Eurosport and GCN will bring fans closer to their favourite riders with a unique view of the action as its ‘Brad on a Bike’ feature returns for 2021 with Sir Bradley Wiggins and Bernie Eisel reporting live from the heart of the peloton. GCN+ will also offer subscribers exclusive content and original documentaries, both online and via the GCN App.
Expressing his excitement about the upcoming event, Eurosport’s SVP – content and production, Scott Young said, “With the Grand Départ just days away, we are gearing up for the most comprehensive coverage of the Tour de France anywhere by harnessing the full power of Eurosport, GCN and discovery+ to excite and entertain viewers everywhere.”
“We are looking forward to having Brad and Bernie back on the bike, offering viewers an innovative and unique insight to life in the peloton, as well as dissecting the drama of each stage through our local analysis and highlights shows. This year, the action does not end at the Champs-Élysées, and with the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020 following just a week after we find out who takes home the yellow jersey, there is so much racing and so many stories to look forward to over the coming weeks,” Young added.
The exclusive coverage begins on 24 June, before stage one begins from the French city, Brest – on 26 June.
Gaming
Dream Sports sees 100 plus exits after gaming ban forces overhaul
Company splits into eight units as real money gaming law hits revenue.
MUMBAI: For a company built on fantasy leagues, reality has suddenly rewritten the rulebook. More than 100 employees have exited Dream Sports, the parent of Dream11, after the company reorganised its operations following India’s ban on real money online gaming. The shake up came after the Promotion and Regulation of Online Gaming Act, 2025 came into force in August 2025, prohibiting games where users deposit money expecting winnings. The regulation struck at the heart of the fantasy gaming industry and dramatically affected Dream Sports’ core business, wiping out about 95 percent of its revenue and all of its profits.
In response, the Mumbai based company shifted into what chief executive officer Harsh Jain described as “startup mode”, splitting its operations into eight independent business units in December.
Around 700 employees were reassigned across these newly formed ventures based on their experience and interests. However, roughly 15 percent opted to leave the company.
A spokesperson for Dream Sports said many of those who exited were experienced professionals accustomed to running scaled businesses rather than early stage ventures.
“Since some of these employees were experienced with running high scale businesses and not startups, around 15 percent chose to leave and join other scaled companies or start ventures of their own,” the spokesperson said.
Despite the departures, the company noted that the attrition rate is only slightly higher than its earlier level of around 10 percent before the ban. Dream Sports now has close to 950 employees and is not currently hiring, choosing instead to focus on stabilising its existing workforce.
The restructuring has transformed Dream Sports from a fantasy gaming company into a broader sports entertainment platform. The eight units now operate independently, each focusing on different segments of the sports and technology ecosystem.
These include Dream11, sports streaming platform Fancode, sports travel service DreamSetGo, mobile game Dream Cricket and artificial intelligence initiative Dream Sports AI, which includes sports analytics platform Dream Play.
Other ventures include fintech product Dream Money, open source initiative Dream Horizon and the philanthropic arm Dream Sports Foundation.
As part of cost saving efforts, Dream Sports also relocated its headquarters from Bandra Kurla Complex to Worli earlier this year. The new office, called Dream Sports Stadium, brings teams from its various brands together under one roof to improve collaboration and operational efficiency.
Jain had earlier said the company removed bonus lock in timelines for employees hired in recent years, allowing those who wished to leave to exit with pro rata payouts.
“We want people who are fully into the startup mode and willing to work for it, and we will share that reward if it comes,” he said.
Founded in 2008 by Harsh Jain and Bhavit Sheth, Dream Sports was last valued at 8 billion dollars after raising 840 million dollars in 2021 from investors including Falcon Edge Capital, DST Global, D1 Capital Partners, RedBird Capital Partners, Tiger Global Management, TPG and Footpath Ventures.
The new gaming law has forced several companies in the fantasy gaming sector to either shut down or pivot their business models, signalling a significant reset for one of India’s fastest growing digital entertainment industries.
