Cricinfo unveils redesigned website and re-brands to ESPNcricinfo

”Cricket’s most popular online destination enhances fan experience”

        

June 3, 2009: ESPN owned Cricinfo, the world’s leading cricket Website, today announced that it will re-launch and re-brand to ESPNcricinfo.com, integrating the site further into the ESPN digital suite of Websites. The site will feature a new look starting June 3, 2009, ahead of the ICC World Twenty20 competition and 2009 Ashes series.

The new-look Website aims to significantly improve the user experience and enhance advertising opportunities. The ESPNcricinfo team has made changes based on the behavior of fans on the site, as well as specific research and user feedback. The redesign also enhances the site’s infrastructure to enable ESPNCricinfo to update content faster, so that fans get the best cricket content, in the best form, faster. The changes include,

• Improved universal navigation – get anywhere from anywhere and navigation to coverage of other sports on ESPN’s sites
• match coverage with links to bulletins and photos alongside the scorecard
• video player on homepage – providing a permanent home for ESPNcricinfo SportsCenter
• enhanced “Highlights” module showcasing the best of ESPNcricinfo
• more related links and modules
• navigation by news topic in the new “In Focus” section
• new player and ground pages

However, as the world’s No1 cricket website, ESPNcricinfo has left in place the most familiar sections that have made it so popular over the past decade, including live scoring, ball-by-ball coverage of every game, in depth news, analysis and statistics.

“The redesign places ESPNcricinfo.com at the heart of ESPN Digital strategy,” said Tom Gleeson, Vice President ESPN Digital Media.  “With this re-launch we wanted to leverage both the ESPN and Cricinfo brands to expand awareness of them both – taking advantage of their individual strengths in particular markets to help expand the awareness of the other as a brand that stands for the world’s best  sports coverage.”

The new design also aims to balance advertisement and content, while providing new opportunities for marketers. The new-look site builds a robust sponsorship element in the various offerings in the website which benefits the advertisers without detracting from the fan experience.

Gleeson added, “One core of aspect of the redesign has been to ensure that associated sponsors are able to build a strong bond with our users by aligning with various product offerings in the site and still keep the cricket fan’s experience high.”

ESPNcricinfo has a heritage of utilizing the latest technology, content and product offerings to bring cricket fans around the world the best possible coverage. The site is the most popular website for the game with 13.7 million users globally. As an indication of the depth and engagement with the site, ESPNcricinfo averaged 672 million user minutes in April and March 2009 and averaged 50 minutes spent per user per month.

For a screengrab of the new look site, please go to ESPNcricinfo.com

About ESPNcricinfo

ESPNcricinfo is a wholly owned subsidiary of ESPN Inc. – the world’s leading multimedia sports entertainment company. Ranked number one in all of its major markets, ESPNcricinfo now reaches more than 13.7 million users every month. The site was founded in 1993, and its continuing success is built on the combination of live ball-by-ball coverage of all Test and one-day international matches, news and features written by some of the world’s best cricket writers, and in-depth statistics on every one of the approximately 3000 international and 45,000 first-class cricketers to have played the game. The site’s reach, authority and brand recognition are unrivalled in the online cricket world. And ESPNcricinfo now reaches beyond the Internet – fans can get ESPNcricinfo content on mobile applications and on some of the world’s leading internet portals. ESPNcricinfo was acquired by ESPN, Inc. in June 2007.

About ESPN

ESPN International reaches fans in 194 countries and territories with 45 networks outside the US.  

ESPN Digital Media, a division of ESPN Inc., is the leading provider of sports on digital media platforms – including the Internet, broadband, mobile and emerging media platforms. At the center of ESPN Digital Media are its suite of sites, including:  ESPN.com, the leading sports site online; ESPNSoccernet, the destination of choice for football fans worldwide with French, German, Spanish and Italian versions (launched May 2007); ESPNcricinfo – the world’s leading cricket website – and ESPNscrum.com – a leading rugby news and information portal, both acquired in summer 2007; ESPNdeportes.com, the leading Spanish-language sports news and information site in the U.S. and a growing presence in throughout Latin America; Racing-Live.com, the world’s leading independent motor racing site, acquired by ESPN in August 2008; and ESPN360.com, the company’s signature broadband service, launched in the U.S. in 2005 and in Europe in 2008.

Based in Bristol, Conn., ESPN, Inc. is the world’s leading multinational, multimedia sports entertainment company featuring a portfolio of over 50 multimedia sports assets. ESPN is 80 percent owned by ABC, Inc., which is an indirect subsidiary of The Walt Disney Company. The Hearst Corporation holds a 20 percent interest in ESPN.