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Willow TV offers cricket World Cup in HD to US viewers
MUMBAI: Willow TV, the North American cricket broadcaster, has unveiled plans for the broadcast of the ICC Cricket World Cup 2011 in the United States.
Willow TV has entered into agreements with Dish Network and DirecTV, the satellite television platforms, who will broadcast the World Cup in high-definition. Dish Network and DirecTV are the only television providers in the US that will broadcast the event.
Willow will also distribute the event via Internet streaming, available across a range of devices. Willow has acquired the exclusive rights to distribute the series on television, broadband and the Internet in the US through an agreement with ESPN Star Sports (ESS), ICC‘s global broadcast and production partner.
Customers can subscribe to the pay-per-view package directly from Dish Network and DirecTV, as well as online via Willow‘s website.
The ICC Cricket World Cup will be available in HD for the first time ever in the US. The first match is on 19 February between co-hosts India and Bangladesh, culminating with the Final in Mumbai on 2 April.
Willow TV has recently announced support for its live streaming across a variety of devices, including an array of smartphones, tablets, leading gaming consoles, Internet-ready televisions and IP video players.
“The range of viewing options that we have made available for this event is unparalleled, and we look forward to delivering a phenomenal viewing experience to cricket fans throughout the US,” said Willow TV CEO Vijay Srinivasan.
ESPN Star Sports MD Manu Sawhney added, “We are pleased to see the increasing popularity of the game in the US and we are committed to bringing the excitement and passion of this iconic cricket tournament to fans in the most comprehensive, engaging and entertaining manner with our signature style production & presentation.”
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Inshorts Group chief Deepit Purkayastha joins IAB video council for Southeast Asia and India
The co-founder and chief executive of the short-form content platform has been inducted into the IAB SEA+India Video Council, giving India a stronger voice in shaping digital video frameworks
NOIDA: India has long been the world’s most chaotic, multilingual and mobile-first digital market. Now, one of its most prominent short-video executives is getting a seat at the table where the rules are written.
Deepit Purkayastha, co-founder and chief executive of Inshorts Group, has been selected as a member of the IAB SEA+India Video Council for 2026. Run by the Interactive Advertising Bureau, the council brings together senior leaders from Southeast Asia and India to shape standards, best practices and measurement frameworks for the fast-evolving video and digital advertising ecosystem.
The timing is pointed. According to the IAMAI-Kantar Internet in India Report 2025, over 588 million Indians are now consuming short-video content, with growth increasingly driven by rural and non-metro audiences. India’s active internet user base has crossed 950 million, with 57 per cent of users now coming from rural markets. Yet the frameworks that govern how video consumption is measured and monetised were largely designed for single-language, Western markets and have struggled to keep pace with the scale, diversity and complexity of India’s digital landscape.
Purkayastha is no stranger to these debates. He already serves on the AI Council at Marketing and Media Alliance India and as co-chair of the Digital Entertainment Committee at the Internet and Mobile Association of India. His induction into the IAB SEA+India Video Council extends that influence into the global video standards arena.
Inshorts Group sits squarely at the intersection of these forces. Its flagship product, Inshorts, India’s highest-rated short news app, reaches 12 million active users with 60-word news summaries. Its sister platform, Public App, reaches 80 million monthly active users across more than 700 districts and 12 languages, serving communities that most global platforms barely register.
Purkayastha said the opportunity was about building something more representative. “India today sits at the centre of the global video ecosystem, but the frameworks that define how value is created and measured have not always kept pace with the realities of our market,” he said. “Being part of the IAB SEA+India Video Council is an opportunity to contribute to a more representative and future-ready approach, one that accounts for diversity in language, context, and user intent.”
As a council member, Purkayastha will contribute to shaping regional standards across video advertising, measurement and platform governance, with a focus on frameworks that are native to India’s multilingual, mobile-first ecosystem rather than imported from global benchmarks designed elsewhere.
For years, India has been content to play by rules written for other markets. Purkayastha’s induction is a signal that it is done waiting to be consulted and ready to start writing them.
