How to Develop a Sports App Like CricBuzz in 2023

With a brand-new IPL season around the corner, cricket fans across the globe are all set to experience “cricket fever” for two months straight. I mean what’s more thrilling than sitting in front of a TV screen and watching your favorite player hit the boundary so hard that the ball leaves the stadium.

Of course, the best way to enjoy a cricket game is to sit inside a cafe with other cricket fans and scream your lungs out every time the ball leaves the stadium. But, due to tightly-packed schedules and work commitments, not every individual has the luxury to sit in front of a TV screen for two hours just to watch a cricket match.

So, what’s the next best option to enjoy a cricket match? The answer is platforms like CricBuzz. For readers who don’t know, Cricbuzz is an Indian cricket news platform that’s entirely dedicated to all cricket fans. You can find live score updates, cricket commentary, and the latest news on upcoming matches on Cricbuzz. In short, it’s an all-in-one solution for cricket fans to stay up-to-date on the latest cricket buzz and never miss out on score updates.

With 150 million active users, Cricbuzz is undoubtedly the most popular cricket-based news platform in the country. And, its massive success among the masses has also encouraged other business owners to invest in sports app development and launch their own sports-news platform like Cricbuzz. If you are also planning to venture into this market, continue reading. In this blog, we’ll share a comprehensive guide on how to develop the best sports score app like Cricbuzz and provide all cricket fans with an exclusive solution to stay up-to-date with the latest scores.

Why 2023 is the Best Time to Build a Sports Score App Like Cricbuzz?

As of 2023, cricket is the second most popular sport with nearly 2.5 million global followers. Like any other sport, be it soccer or American football, these cricket followers are highly involved in the sport and always want to keep themselves updated with the latest cricket buzz. With a dedicated cricket score app like Cricbuzz, you can provide these users with relevant news so that they can stay away from rumors and know what’s happening in the sports industry.

Another reason why you would want to invest in the best sports score app development is the future scope of the market. Since COVID-19 is still wreaking havoc across the globe, it’s safe to say that authorities are less likely to allow people to watch live matches in a stadium. In such a scenario, fans would have no other option, but to sit inside their homes and check the live scores on apps like Cricbuzz.

The pandemic is most likely to propel the popularity of sports app development. Studies have revealed that the entire mobile sports industry is growing at a CAGR of 5.3% and is likely to cross $614.1 billion by the end of this year. It means by launching a dedicated sports app like Cricbuzz, you can relish the benefits of being a part of an exponentially growing market with high ROIs.

Key Features of a Sports-Score App Like Cricbuzz

Now, to develop the best sports score app like Cricbuzz, it’s crucial to familiarize yourself with the key features of such applications. The more feature-packed your app is, the easier it’ll become to surpass existing sports score apps. So, before you go out and hire remote app developers for your sports app, make sure to scrutinize the web to find necessary features that’ll make it useful and engaging for the end-users.

Here is a list of some of the basic features that are common among all sports score apps.

1. Live Streaming

Even though Cricbuzz doesn’t provide a live streaming feature, it is the most necessary function you can integrate into your sports app to gain a competitive edge and stand apart. By live streaming, we mean broadcasting the entire match or sports event in video format on users’ end-screens.

No doubt, Cricbuzz does provide users with live score updates, the majority of people prefer seeing the actual match instead of checking scores. Live streaming has become the new trend in the sports industry. Almost 54% of the live streaming content is about sports. So, if you are planning to develop a sports score app like Cricbuzz in 2023, it would be crucial to provide users with the live streaming feature.

2. Real-Time Score Updates

This one goes without saying! If you are launching a sports app, it must provide users with real-time score updates. In addition to score updates, you can also upload key highlights of the entire match so that users can easily check the best moments of the event.

One of the easiest ways to do this is to add a separate “Live-Feed” section where the score automatically gets updated. This section can also display other match-related information such as commentary, highlights, and expert projects. All these small elements will enhance the overall user experience that’ll automatically uplift the user retention rate.

3. Match Alerts via Push Notifications

Push notifications can be a great asset for your sports-score app. By sending regular alerts via push notifications, you can keep users up-to-date with upcoming events so that they don’t miss out on any action.

Push Notifications can also make it easier to send regular updates regarding exclusive offers you’re running on your platform. To put it in simple words, Push Notifications are a great way to keep the users engaged with relevant content and ensure you can sustain a consistent customer base.

4. Match Highlights

Even though apps like Cricbuzz boast 24/7 availability, people can still miss out on live score updates due to unexpected emergencies. For such users, you can integrate a dedicated “Highlights” feature where they can watch the key highlights of all the recent matches or events.

This will allow you to acquire long-term customers who’ll come back to watch the highlights and never miss out on any action. Now, the highlights feature can also include a comment section where users can share their feedback on a particular match and interact with other cricket fans in real-time.

5. Ticket Sales

The best sports apps can also act as a marketplace where fans could buy tickets to matches and different sporting events. Though attending live matches is still banned in many countries, this feature can prepare you for the future.

Users will be able to browse seat availability and book tickets right from your sports app. Of course, if you are going to sell tickets on your platform, it’ll also be crucial to integrate a dedicated payment gateway to support multiple payment methods. You can hire professional sports app developersand they’ll choose the most suitable payment gateway solution for your app based on your individual app requirements.

6. Virtual Reality (VR) Streaming

With Mark Zuckerberg being quite serious about Metaverse development, the popularity of VR headsets has propelled exponentially. Ever since the term ‘Metaverse’ started surfacing the Internet, the sales of VR units have gone higher. Compared to last year (9.2 million units), it’s projected that nearly 14.19 million units are going to be sold in 2022, showing a year-on-year growth rate of 34%.

With VR headsets becoming more common, VR integration will become a necessity in all sports applications, especially if they come with the live streaming feature. With VR screening, you can provide a more interactive experience to the users. For instance, players can wear their VR headsets and step into a virtual world that resembles the actual stadium and enjoy the entire match as if they were physically present there.

7. Match Predictions

Predicting the outcome of an upcoming cricket match is a beloved hobby for many cricket enthusiasts. Well, instead of predicting these outcomes in a closed circle, it would be much better if people could take this debate to the next level.

With your sports score app like Cricbuzz, you can create a prediction forum where users can create a thread and debate with other cricket fans and decide the winner of an upcoming match. This will make the entire discussion more interactive and fun for everyone.

How to Develop a Sports Score App Like Cricbuzz?

The first step towards developing a sports score app is to find a reliable tech partner. Why? Because even though it may sound pretty simple, building a platform like Cricbuzz is a challenge on its own. You need people who have worked on such apps in the past and have the required technical expertise to work with different development tools to turn your idea into reality.

When it comes to hiring sports app developers, you can follow one of the two different routes, i.e., either hire in-house developers or outsource to an offshore development company. The in-house vs offshore developers is always a tricky battle because both approaches have their own merits and demerits.

To help you make the right decision, here are some of the key differences between in-house development and outsourcing the task to third-party developers.

The general thumb rule says that you should analyze your app requirements, devise an estimated budget and then choose the right development approach for your business. Whether you hire in-house developers or work with an offshore development partner, make sure to be extra cautious while hiring the experts.

To compete with industry leaders like Cricbuzz and ESPN, it would be crucial that your development team has the required expertise to develop a high-end sports application.

Helpful Guidelines to Develop a Successful Sports Score App

Here’s the deal! Even if you have hired experts to develop the best sports score app, staying involved throughout the development cycle will always work in your favor. Now, we’re not talking about debating with developers on which technology is better. The idea is to simply overlook the development process so that you can stay assured that everything is on the right track.

Here are a few guidelines that’ll allow you to avoid unexpected roadblocks during the development phase and accelerate the overall time-to-market for better execution.

• Whether you hire in-house developers or join hands with an offshore development partner, always integrate MVP development into your development cycle. MVP or Minimum Viable Product is a process where the developers design an initial version (with basic features) and test the validity of the application among real users. The feedback then allows them to make essential changes to the design, UI, and functionality right in the beginning.
• When it comes to integrating a payment gateway, discuss with your development team and compare different service providers individually. Look for payment solutions that provide multiple payment options along with advanced encryption mechanisms. This will keep your customers’ personal banking details safe.
• If you are planning to integrate the live streaming feature into your sports app, you would require a cloud-based video hosting service to stream live events without any interruption. Again, do your due diligence to find the most suitable streaming service for your application.
• Open communication through comments, forums, and personal text is an essential feature of a sports app as it can help you build a strong community. But, it would be crucial that all these comments are respectful. Why? Because it’ll keep everyone safe from cyberbullying and give users the liberty to interact with each other respectfully.

How Much Does it Cost to Develop a Sports App Like Cricbuzz

Now, coming to the real question – how much would you have to pay to develop an app like Cricbuzz. Well, it depends! The development cost varies in every situation as multiple factors can influence it. For instance, the difference in hourly development rates of developers in the United States and India are anywhere between $30-$60 – the latter being more affordable. So, if you hire developers from the United States, you are most likely to pay more to get your sports app developed.

Another factor that influences the development cost of a sports app like Cricbuzz is the features that you want to integrate. Adding advanced features like video streaming and in-app chat support would require additional API integration. You’ll have to purchase these API licenses from third parties, which will make sports app development more expensive. To evaluate the exact development price of a sports app like Cricbuzz, you can consult your development partner and they’ll devise a custom pricing solution to meet your specific app requirements.

In general, however, you are most likely to be paying anywhere between $20,000 to $70,000 to get your sports app developed.

Location of DevelopersDevelopment Cost

Conclusion

The global pandemic is still a major deciding factor for the economical development of many countries. In such a scenario, it’s safe to say that attending live sporting events won’t be a norm anytime soon. Instead, people will stick to apps like Cricbuzz to get live score updates and stream on their smartphones. This will skyrocket the demand for feature-packed sports score apps, making it a profitable opportunity for everyone. So, hire skilled sports app developers and launch a brand-new sports application to help users keep a track of ongoing matches all the time.