ICC gets Yahoo! as the official Internet partner

The partnership, which is for the next three years, will allow Yahoo to host exclusive content from ICC

Yahoo! India and the International Cricket Council (ICC) have announced a three year partnership, during which Yahoo will serve as an exclusive online partner for all the ICC events. Events such as the Twenty20, ICC Champions Trophy and ICC Cricket World Cup 2011 are included in the partnership.

Rahul Dravid, the chief guest of the evening, unveiled the new, exclusive property, called iccevents.yahoo.com, created by Yahoo. This website will have images, videos, interviews and other exclusive content from ICC.

Haroon Lorgat, chief executive officer, ICC says, “In today’s technology-driven world, this is a massive boost for the ICC and cricket. Not only do we get another vibrant and committed commercial partner onboard, but this deal also ensures cricket fans will benefit from Yahoo's reach across the cyber world.”

Gopal Krishna, vice-president and head of audience, emerging markets, Yahoo! adds that the portal intends to attract more users worldwide towards cricket, and hence, they have launched a global cricket website (cricket.yahoo.com). This new website has a host of sections such as live scores, match highlights, match schedules, photo albums, player profiles and mobile updates.

According to a ComScore research data, which was released in October 2008, Yahoo! Cricket was adjudged as the No. 1 cricket site in India with 1.97 million users. This initiative will further help Yahoo increase its reach globally.

Krishna says that over time, cricket enthusiasts will be able to watch live cricket matches on Yahoo.com.

In December last year, Yahoo! India announced that it will launch new verticals to facilitate top of the mind recall for the brand. This initiative is a step in the same direction.