FanCode: Expanding India's Sports Streaming Frontier Beyond Cricket
Newsletter #3 on Indian Sports Streaming & a Pro Padel League possibility?
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Pocket FM: Redefining Audio Entertainment in India and Beyond
In the evolving landscape of digital entertainment, Pocket FM has carved out a compelling niche by championing the audio series format. Launched in 2018, the platform quickly emerged as a leader in serialized audio storytelling, amassing a staggering 200 million listeners worldwide and more than 250,000 creators producing engaging, immersive audio series. With over $196.5 million in funding, Pocket FM is redefining how audiences experience audio entertainment, placing itself at the forefront of a genre once dominated by traditional audiobooks and podcasts.
An Expansive, Genre-Rich Library
Pocket FM’s diverse catalog—spanning romance, horror, thriller, and drama—offers over 100,000 hours of content. This vast library includes 2,000 exclusive series and over 400,000 episodes, fueling a “binge-listening” culture that has captivated audiences. Listeners, on average, spend an impressive 115 minutes daily on the platform, and this figure climbs even higher in the US, with users there clocking over 135 minutes a day.
This deep engagement is a testament to Pocket FM’s commitment to storytelling that resonates. By blending episodic structure with quality production, Pocket FM fosters a unique experience that keeps audiences coming back, a powerful indicator of the brand’s impact and potential in the long term.
Driving Growth and Engagement Through Generative AI
To continue scaling, Pocket FM has invested heavily in an AI-led strategy to streamline content creation, curation, and distribution. With generative AI, the platform can provide tailored recommendations, increasing listener satisfaction and retention. This tech-driven approach doesn’t just enhance user experience; it positions Pocket FM as a forward-thinking player in the entertainment industry.
The strategy of tapping into exclusive, IP-driven storytelling is both a competitive edge and a revenue generator. By prioritizing unique, high-quality content, Pocket FM is effectively building a strong IP portfolio that will hold long-term value across multiple markets.
Global Expansion and Financial Milestones
Pocket FM’s recent $103 million Series D funding round, led by Lightspeed, underscores investor confidence in its ability to continue scaling profitably. This funding will fuel its expansion into Europe and Latin America, as well as further its push into the lucrative US market, where it has already reached a $150 million ARR.
This financial success story extends beyond revenue growth; it is a strong indicator of Pocket FM’s sustainable business model. The platform’s unique pricing strategy and focus on unit economics position it as an emerging reference in the entertainment landscape, highlighting the potential for new players to succeed beyond the shadow of legacy media giants.
Pocket FM as a Benchmark in India’s Streaming Ecosystem
Pocket FM’s journey reflects a broader trend in India’s media and tech ecosystem, where smaller, innovative players are pushing the envelope, especially in under-explored categories. The platform’s commitment to democratizing audio entertainment and creating new avenues for storytellers exemplifies the innovation driving India’s media tech scene today. By leading in an uncharted category, Pocket FM is setting benchmarks that inspire the ecosystem at large, proving that success in Indian streaming can come from creative disruption and a keen understanding of audience needs.
As we dig deeper and wider across the Indian media and streaming ecosystem, stories like Pocket FM’s remind us of the boundless innovation flourishing beyond the traditional landscape.
Agenda
FanCode: Expanding India's Sports Streaming Frontier Beyond Cricket
Fancode Shop: True Content, Commerce and Community Platform
My Views
And….Action!
FanCode: Expanding India's Sports Streaming Frontier Beyond Cricket
Introduction to FanCode:
Dream Sports owned (parent company of Dream 11, India’s largest fantasy sports platform with 200 million + users) FanCode, a sports streaming platform from India, offers a diverse range of sports and leagues catering to sports enthusiasts.
Founded four years ago by CEO and co-founder Yannick Colaco and Prasana Krishnan, FanCode prioritizes access to sports content with a loyal following but limited distribution.
Dream Sports-owned sports streaming platform FanCode is aiming to double its paid subscriber base in 2024. Yannick Colaco, co-founder of FanCode, revealed that the platform's user base grew by over five times in the last three years, and they anticipate a growth of over two times in their subscriber base in 2024 compared to 2023.
FanCode received a $50 million funding from Dream Sports in 2021.
Content Strategy and Focus:
FanCode deliberately avoids focusing on top-tier sports leagues like IPL, ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup, and FIFA, which are already well-monetized by large companies such as Disney, Sony, and Viacom18 (JioCinema). They made an exception for Formula 1 this year for example.
Fancode struck an exclusive partnership with Formula 1 for broadcasting rights in the Indian market for the 2024 and 2025 seasons. Additionally, Formula 1 (F1) (With 60 million fans in India, F1 aims to significantly increase its fan base in the country through this strategic partnership with FanCode) will not be available for streaming on any linear platforms during the two seasons, Yannick Colaco, co-founder of FanCode, and Michaella Snoeck, head of media rights at Formula 1, said in a joint interaction with Mint.
The platform aims to aggregate 100 million users from 10,000 smaller events, recognizing the potential of emerging sports in India.
In 2022, FanCode streamed approximately 6,500 matches, with about 4,500 being cricket matches. However, the platform then aimed to diversify its content, with streaming 50% of non-cricket content in 2023.
Expansion Beyond Cricket:
FanCode has partnerships with various sports bodies globally, including ICC, West Indies Cricket Board, England Cricket Board, New Zealand Cricket, Bangladesh Cricket Board, and Cricket Ireland.
The platform plans to increase non-cricket content, streaming sports such as rugby, golf, horse racing, handball, football, hockey, and baseball.
Recent streaming partnerships include events like the PGA Championship and upcoming events like the Royal Ascot Race.
Enhancing User Experience:
FanCode offers a customizable and immersive streaming experience, allowing viewers to choose their preferred language, access live scorecards, highlights, and statistics during matches.
Features like quick access to live scoreboards and mid-match highlights cater to users' preferences for real-time updates.
Revenue Models and Market Strategy:
FanCode offers a flexible payment structure, allowing users to pay per match / tournament or purchase monthly and annual subscriptions at affordable prices.
The bite-sized fee structure aims to expand the market and reduce the entry barrier for users, drawing parallels to the FMCG category's sachet model.
Despite concerns about retention, FanCode is confident in its per-match payment model, ensuring a high volume of content throughout the year to keep users engaged.
Advertising and Partnerships:
FanCode initiated its ad-tech journey about twelve months ago, attracting advertisers who value engaged authenticated users on the platform.
Brands are increasingly recognizing the advertising potential on niche platforms like FanCode, with recent partnerships including Piramal Finance, Emami, Tissot Watches, Total Energies, and 5Paisa.
Fancode Shop: True Content, Commerce and Community Platform
Building on the strategy of content, commerce and community for streaming destinations, Fancode has an active e-commerce destination selling sports merchandise to fans across the country.
Recently, FanCode Shop, the merchandising arm of FanCode, extended its exclusive partnership with the International Cricket Council (ICC) to offer official fan merchandise for the ICC Men's Cricket World Cup India 2023.
Through in-venue outlets and a digital store, FanCode Shop provided fans in India with the opportunity to purchase a wide range of ICC merchandise. The offerings included trendy casual wear, accessories, and cricket equipment, catering to fans of all ages.
With prices starting at Rs. 300, the merchandise celebrated the passion of Indian cricket fans. Additionally, FanCode Shop successfully manages official mega stores for the Rajasthan Royals, Punjab Kings, and Kolkata Knight Riders during IPL season.
My Views
FanCode has all the right elements in place for global expansion. With its entire video streaming tech stack built in-house and supported by Google Cloud and AWS, the platform efficiently controls costs, allowing it to concentrate on high-value areas like content, customer acquisition, and monetization. This technology-driven foundation positions FanCode to scale internationally with agility and resourcefulness.
A powerful growth opportunity for FanCode lies in taking a page from Disney+ Hotstar’s success with Kabaddi by creating and owning leagues that can elevate emerging sports.
For instance, with Padel rapidly gaining popularity in urban India, a "Pro Padel League" backed by FanCode could create a Pro Kabaddi League-like impact for this sport. Such a move would not only expand FanCode’s fan and user base but also open up additional revenue streams tied to league ownership, sponsorships, and media rights. This approach would enhance FanCode’s valuation, solidifying its position as a pioneer in India’s evolving sports landscape.
Through these strategic steps, FanCode is not just diversifying its content but also transforming the ecosystem—building sports, cultivating fans, and generating value across the board. As it continues to redefine sports streaming in India and beyond, FanCode is poised to set new benchmarks in sports entertainment globally.
Releasing on 15th November, one of the more awaited TV originals "Freedom at Midnight" is an upcoming Hindi-language historical drama series on Sony LIV (to be launched in 7 Indian languages), adapted from the acclaimed book by Dominique Lapierre and Larry Collins. Led by showrunner Nikkhil Advani, the series offers a deep exploration into the partition of India and Pakistan. The first teaser for this powerful adaptation was released on July 30, 2024. I am looking forward to logging in on the 15th to check out the first episode. The trailer looks great.
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