Cricket Australia signs Komo deal for fan data push

Cricket Australia has signed a deal with Komo Technologies to use its audience engagement and data platform across international cricket and the Big Bash leagues.

The agreement will let Cricket Australia run interactive features such as predictions, voting and other in-game participation tools across venues, broadcasts and digital products including CricketPlus.

The governing body wants to move beyond standard forms and surveys as it seeks more direct information on how supporters engage with matches and content.

"Komo gives us one platform that works in venue, on broadcast and across our digital offerings such as CricketPlus so that we can offer fans experiences worth taking part in, understand more about what they respond to, and give our commercial partners real engagement to point to," said Annie Clare, Senior Manager, Martech and Capability at Cricket Australia.

The deal adds another national sports body to Komo's client list. The Australian company recently signed the NBL Group to work across the NBL and WNBL, and has also reached agreements with the NRL, Tennis Australia, Rugby Australia, New Zealand Rugby and Australian hockey.

Data focus

For sports organisations, the appeal of these systems lies in the data gathered from fan participation, rather than passive audience measurement alone. Each interaction produces consented, declared data that can help a rights holder build a clearer picture of supporter preferences, according to Komo.

Joel Steel, Co-founder and Chief Executive Officer of Komo, said many sports had already built substantial audiences but still lacked detailed knowledge about them.

"The audience is there, the reach is enormous. What every major sport is now working out is how much it actually knows about its audience, because knowing a fan makes it possible to drive greater personalised experiences as well as measurable ROI for sponsors.

Participation is the most reliable way to gather those insights and that's the job we're taking on with Cricket Australia. Give people something genuinely worth taking part in and they'll tell you who they are, willingly. Fans take part, the sport gets to know them, and that turns into commercial value CA can grow," said Steel.

That commercial element is central to the pitch to governing bodies and leagues. Alongside the software itself, Komo said its team will work with Cricket Australia's commercial division on activations, campaign planning and digital inventory that can be sold to sponsors.

The platform also lets clients create sponsor-led fan activities quickly across existing owned channels. That is intended to help sports bodies show advertisers evidence of participation rather than relying only on reach figures.

Sporting push

Komo has expanded its profile in sport at a time when leagues and federations are looking for more direct relationships with fans through their own apps and websites. Steel said the business originally launched with its own consumer app before shifting strategy when sports organisations indicated they wanted supporters to remain within their own digital environments.

That led Komo to rebuild its product so it could be embedded in a client's existing website or app, Steel said. He added that the company now works with sporting and broadcast organisations across eight countries, with 42% of revenue coming from overseas markets.

The business was founded almost 12 years ago by Steel and Glenn Morton, now Chief Technology Officer. Its latest run of sports deals suggests audience data and fan interaction are becoming more important budget lines for leagues seeking both marketing insight and sponsor income.

The NBL Group agreement provides another example of that trend. Basketball officials said they are trying to keep pace with growth in attendance and audience interest across both the men's and women's competitions.

"The NBL is in the middle of the biggest growth we've seen, and that's down to the fanbase that continues to build right alongside us. Komo gives us one connected way to understand our fans across the NBL and WNBL, and to continue the strong foundations we've already put in place. As our leagues grow, our thinking on how we engage fans has to grow with them, and this partnership is about backing that evolution for the seasons ahead. I want to thank Joel and the team for their work and enthusiasm for our league's successes," said Jenkins.

Komo has also moved into international event work. Its technology will be integrated into the official NFL OnePass app for fan engagement around the league's match at the Melbourne Cricket Ground between the Los Angeles Rams and the San Francisco 49ers.

For Cricket Australia, the partnership reflects a wider shift in sport towards treating fan participation as both a media tool and a source of first-party data. For Komo, it adds one of the country's largest sporting bodies to a customer base that increasingly spans domestic leagues, national federations and overseas organisations.