Q&A: Wisden Discusses Webcasts

Mon, Jun 10, '02

Last week, after several frustrating attempts to get some promised answers from the folks at Wisden.com, the editors of CaribbeanCricket.com decided to publish the list of unanswered questions.

Lo and behold, it appears our impatience paid off. Suddenly, the answers appeared in our e-mail inboxes today (Monday). Here, without any comment, we publish the complete Q&A interview with Wisden.com executive Jamie Clifford...

Based on your projections for subscribers during the Test series, how would you rate the success of the Web-cast venture as a viable business venture?
Wisden.com: Wisden were extremely pleased with the numbers of subscribers we attracted for the West Indies v India Test series. The number of West Indian supporters who signed up, far exceeding our expectations especially delighted us.

CaribbeanCricket: Did you exceed the initial projections for paid subscriptions?
Wisden.com: Yes

CaribbeanCricket: Is this going to be a staple for all West Indies series (home and away) going forward? Or is this limited to home games where the WICB has the exclusive rights?
Wisden.com: Wisden will continue to pursue the rights of key series around the world. A commitment to Indian cricket at home has been secured until September 2004. We are keen to reach similar agreements with all major Test playing nations.

CaribbeanCricket: During the Test series, there were some minor connectivity/buffering issues that proved to be quite a headache at times. How much of an
obstruction was that at your end?
Wisden.com: Some users reported difficulties. All such reports were dealt with swiftly and competently by our 24 hour helpdesk, the majority of users could then watch the stream uninterrupted. In some instances users did not have the system requirements to handle the streaming.

CaribbeanCricket: During the Antigua game, you provided refunds to subscribers who lost connectivity? Did this have a huge impact on your revenue projections?
Wisden.com: We consider a loyal user base who are happy with the service and feel that they are being looked after is considerably more important than any particular days revenue.

CaribbeanCricket: What's the justification for the pricing structure of the ODIs? The prices listed seem noticeably higher than the prices for the Tests...
Wisden.com: In our experience users tend to watch the whole days play during an ODI, whereas in a Test match they dip in and out. This means that our costs are
proportionally higher.

CaribbeanCricket: Are you worried that the ODIs might be overpriced and scare some subscribers away?
Wisden.com: We were blighted by bad weather during the ODI series and it is therefore difficult to say for this series. However when we cover the India v England
series earlier in the year we noticed an increase in user numbers.

CaribbeanCricket: Who sets the pricing? Is this done solely by Wisden/BBC at their end or does the WICB office have a say?
Wisden.com: All parties have a say in the price setting.

CaribbeanCricket: Can you shed some light on what the revenue-sharing structure looks like? Is it an equitable distribution?
Wisden.com: Whilst keen to answer all your questions - I hope that you understand that this information is commercial sensitive.