Samiksha Jaiswal (Editor)

Willow (TV channel)

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Launched
  
September 21, 2010

Country
  
United States

Dish Network
  
Channel 712

DirecTV
  
Channel 2024

Founded
  
2010

Owned by
  
Private

Headquarters
  
Palo Alto, California

Verizon FiOS
  
Channel 806 (HD)

Owner
  
Privately held company

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Picture format
  
1080i (HDTV) (HD feed downgraded to letterboxed 480i for SDTVs)

Slogan
  
The home for cricket in North America

Apple TV
  
"Willow TV" channel (subscription required)

Sister channel(s)
  
NEO Cricket (former competitor; current second feed of Willow's schedule on some providers due to contractual issues)

Profiles

WILLOW (Willow Cricket) is an American sports channel which is completely devoted to airing overseas cricket events, including live and recorded matches and other cricket-related programming in English, with the majority of its advertising targeted towards the Indian subcontinent diaspora in North America. The network is carried both as a traditional cable channel which airs on cable and satellite systems, and a paid streaming service available on Willow and Apple TV.

Contents

The network was launched on September 21, 2010 and broadcasts cricket matches and several cricket-based programs and coverage from around the world. The channel merged with NEO Cricket's American network in February 2013 as that provider drew down their American operations with the Willow name remaining.

Willow's cable channel is available via satellite providers DISH Network and DirecTV, which is available both a la carte and bundled in various South Asian language packs on DISH and the HindiDirect package on DirecTV. It is also available on cable systems like Comcast, Time Warner Cable, Cablevision, Charter and Cox, varying between extended sports packages or offered with other South Asian networks.

Willow has operated an Internet portal for live streaming of cricket events at willow.tv since 2010 for a monthly subscription fee. Willow has driven various innovations in the coverage of cricket, like video-based live scorecards and editorials. The website provides subscribers with video streams available on laptops, smartphones and tablets, plus web-connected devices like Roku, Boxee, GoogleTV, Samsung's Internet@TV and PlayStation 3. A dedicated app for Willow was added for Apple TV on June 24, 2014.

Match rights

Willow holds the rights to the matches of the following teams and leagues:

National teams

  • Cricket Australia
  • Bangladesh Cricket Board
  • Board of Control for Cricket in India
  • Pakistan Cricket Board
  • Cricket South Africa
  • West Indies cricket team
  • Sri Lanka cricket team
  • Zimbabwe Cricket
  • ICC Events

  • All ICC events from Nov 2015 to 2023 (Included in the new eight-year period are 18 ICC tournaments, including two ICC Cricket World Cups (2019 and 2023), two ICC Champions Trophy tournaments (2017 and 2021) and two ICC World Twenty20 tournaments (2016 and 2020).
  • ICC Events 2015-2023

    ICC major global events:

  • ICC World Twenty20 2016 - India
  • ICC Champions Trophy 2017 - England and Wales
  • ICC Cricket World Cup 2019 - England and Wales
  • ICC World Twenty20 2020 - Australia
  • ICC Champions Trophy 2021 - India
  • ICC Cricket World Cup 2023 - India
  • ICC qualifying events:

  • ICC World Twenty20 Qualifier 2015 - Ireland and Scotland
  • ICC Cricket World Cup Qualifier 2018 - Bangladesh
  • ICC World Twenty20 Qualifier 2019 – TBC
  • ICC Cricket World Cup Qualifier 2022 - Zimbabwe
  • Other ICC events:

  • ICC U19 Cricket World Cup 2016 - Bangladesh
  • ICC Women's World Cup 2017 - England and Wales
  • ICC U19 Cricket World Cup 2018 - New Zealand
  • ICC Women's World Twenty20 2018 - West Indies
  • ICC U19 Cricket World Cup 2020 - South Africa
  • ICC Women's World Cup 2021 - New Zealand
  • ICC U19 Cricket World Cup 2022 - West Indies
  • ICC Women's World Twenty20 2022 - South Africa
  • League and other competitions

  • Hong Kong Cricket Sixes
  • KFC T20 Big Bash League (Australia)
  • Karnataka Premier league
  • Former rights

  • England and Wales Cricket Board (home match rights until 2013; home match rights now held by WatchESPN and ONE World Sports)
  • Indian Premier League (produced by IMG; moved in 2015 to ESPN/WatchESPN)
  • References

    Willow (TV channel) Wikipedia