The football World Cup may be attracting viewers across the planet but cricket has a huge audience too, with a fanbase of more than a billion people, a major new survey says.
The report, conducted by Nielsen Sports for the International Cricket Council, put the number of fans at 1.039 billion -- mostly male, living in South Asia, and with an average age of 34.
However, 39 percent are female, the survey says, adding that the venerable, five-day Test format remains popular, attracting interest from 70 percent of fans.
The ICC said it was the biggest market research project into the sport, involving 19,000 interviews around the world with fans aged 16-69.
ICC chief executive Dave Richardson said it showed the sport needs to retain its focus on all three international formats: Tests, 50-over one-day games and Twenty20s.
"We get a number of doomsayers predicting the death of Tests, even 50-over cricket, but actually the strategy to focus on all three formats is still probably the right way to go," Richardson said in a conference call from Dubai.
He added that the upcoming World Test Championship, starting in July next year, will only enhance the popularity of the game's traditional format.
"I hope it (Test championship) will be a significant rise in interest around the world and will add to the number of fans following Tests," Richardson said.
The ICC also said that a "global strategy" was in the works to make cricket "an easier sport to follow" -- the arcane "Laws of Cricket" published by Lord's Cricket Ground has 82 pages.
Jargon such as googlies, jaffas, maidens and chin music make cricket notoriously inaccessible to newcomers, while the sport's support remains rooted in its traditional markets.
"Passion for cricket in the sub-continent drives 90 per cent of the fans," said Aarti Dabas, the ICC's head of media rights, broadcast and digital.
The survey also identified almost 300 million active participants over the age of 16, and said 87 percent of fans want T20 cricket included in the Olympics.
Reddit is adding video replies as it broadens the ways users interact on the platform.
Reddit users can now post videos in comment threads
Reddit is expanding beyond text-based discussions with the launch of video comments, a new feature that allows users to reply to posts and conversations using short videos.
The Reddit video comments feature began rolling out on June 11 and is available in eligible public communities that choose to enable it. The update marks another step in Reddit's efforts to make discussions more interactive while giving users additional ways to share ideas, reactions and advice beyond traditional text comments.
Users can either upload an existing video or record one directly from the comment box. Once enabled by moderators, a video icon will appear alongside the existing image and GIF options in comment threads.
From text threads to face-to-face reactions
For nearly two decades, Reddit has largely been built around written discussions. While images and GIFs were added over time, conversations have remained primarily text-driven.
Video comments could change that dynamic, particularly in communities where visual demonstrations are more useful than written explanations. A cooking enthusiast could respond with a quick recipe demonstration, a beauty creator could show a makeup technique, or sports fans could share clips illustrating a discussion point.
Reddit also sees potential for its popular Ask Me Anything (AMA) sessions. Rather than posting a single video response to multiple questions, public figures could potentially reply to individual users through separate video comments.
The feature has already been tested in selected communities through an alpha programme. According to Reddit, examples included a video AMA with Spice Girls singer Mel C and users sharing handwriting demonstrations in a fountain pen community.
Maria Angelidou-Smith, Reddit's chief product officer, reportedly said the company is continuing to evolve the platform to create a more immersive and authentic experience for users. She added that video replies would offer communities new ways to express themselves and interact.
Safety controls remain in place
The rollout comes with several restrictions. Video comments are only available in public, safe-for-work communities and moderators must actively enable the feature before users can access it. Private and not-safe-for-work communities are currently excluded.
Reddit said uploaded videos will pass through the platform's safety systems before becoming publicly visible. The company also confirmed that video comments will not autoplay and will respect users' existing audio settings.
The safeguards reflect the platform's cautious approach to introducing video into comment sections, an area that has traditionally been dominated by text discussions.
The launch forms part of Reddit's broader strategy to expand content formats and encourage deeper engagement across its communities. While text remains at the heart of the platform, video comments suggest Reddit is increasingly experimenting with features more commonly associated with social media and creator-focused platforms.
Whether users embrace the format widely may depend on how individual communities choose to use it, but the move signals a notable shift in how conversations could evolve across one of the internet's largest discussion platforms.