The encyclopedia · Marketing & Brand · Marketing decision · 2023–2025
Dream11 made sign language cricket commentary and won the 2025 Media Abby Grand Prix
Dream11 embedded Indian Sign Language into live cricket for 63M hearing-impaired fans — and won Media Abby's only 2025 Grand Prix.
Dream11 · Wavemaker · Star Sports
The solution
Cricket in India is a shared language carried by voice commentary — but for more than 63 million Indians with hearing impairment, that language was inaccessible. Dream11, a fantasy-sports platform, set out to make the broadcast experience inclusive rather than bolt accessibility on as an afterthought.
In partnership with Star Sports, Dream11 integrated Indian Sign Language interpretation into live cricket broadcasts and its own brand communication. Eighteen unique Dream11 TVCs were produced with all four languages interpreted into sign language, and live interpretation ran across the ODI World Cup 2023, IPL 2024 and the ICC T20 World Cup 2024.
The interpretation was built for live sport's demands: translating not just words but excitement, tension, humour and drama in real time, coordinated between broadcasters, production teams, cultural consultants and sign-language experts. Boundaries were celebrated and wickets felt without sound, for the first time.
Titled 'India's New Local Language', the campaign won the only Grand Prix of the evening at the Media Abby Awards 2025. Captains of the Indian and Mumbai deaf cricket teams publicly endorsed it, and Dream11 was repositioned as a leader in inclusive communication rather than merely a fantasy-sports app.
Why it worked
- Accessibility became the campaign idea itself, not a corporate-responsibility footnote.
- Live integration meant the proof was the broadcast itself, watched by millions.
- Spanning three marquee tournaments gave the effort scale and persistence.
- Deaf cricket leaders' endorsement gave the initiative authenticity inside the community.
What can be applied
An underserved audience is not a CSR line item: treat accessibility as the core creative and the brand gains a market and a story competitors can't copy.
Aftermath
The initiative set a benchmark for inclusive sports broadcasting in India: Disney Star extended Indian Sign Language and audio-descriptive feeds for the T20 World Cup 2024, and Dream11's campaign collected the sole Media Abby Grand Prix at Goafest 2025. The brand carried the inclusive positioning into subsequent cricket properties, showing that an accessibility play could double as category leadership.
Sources
- How Sign Language Became the New Sound of Indian Cricket | Dream11: India's New Local Language
- Day1@Goafest Wavemaker's Dream Run at Media Abby 2025
- Star Sports Introduces Audio Descriptive Commentary For T20 World Cup 2024
spotted an error? The archive wants to know.
Your turn
You just read one. Describe the problem you are stuck on, and the archive answers from 3,800 more — with the sources.
Free account · 3 free questions · no card