Sky Sports bags ICC broadcast rights until 2031

Sky Sports has been awarded the International Cricket Council (ICC) tournament broadcast rights until the 2031 edition of the Cricket World Cup as the British sports channel has succeeded in signing and finalizing a lucrative eight-year deal.

As per this new deal, all the broadcast rights of the men’s and women’s ODI and T20 World Cup will be enjoyed by Sky Sports in the UK and Ireland. Apart from these, they also have the rights to telecast the ICC World Test Championship final in June this year.

Notably, England will also be hosting a few of the multi-nation tournaments in the run up to the 2031 Men’s 50-over World Cup. They include- this year’s WTC final at The Oval, the next edition of the World Test Championship final in 2025, ICC Women’s T20 World Cup 2026 and Men’s T20 World Cup 2030.

It has been estimated that as many as 28 international events are scheduled to take place between 2024 and 2031 for men and women's teams as well as U19 fixtures. Later this year, the England men’s team will be defending their ODI World Cup in India. The Three Lions are also the reigning T20 world champions.

Commenting on this new deal, ICC CEO Geoff Allardice is confident that it will go a long way in attracting more number of players and fans towards the game.

"We are delighted to partner with Sky Sports until 2031 as the home of ICC cricket in the UK and Ireland. For the first time, the partnership will be a direct relationship with Sky Sports which gives us some exciting opportunities for innovative collaborations,” said Allardice as quoted by The Cricketer.

"I am confident this partnership can support our long-term ambition to attract more players and more fans to the game,” he added.

At the same time, an elated Sky Sports MD Jonathan Licht explained how this new direct partnership with the ICC will go a long way in attracting the viewers in the United Kingdom and Ireland going forward.

"This new direct partnership with the ICC means that Sky Sports viewers in the UK & Ireland can continue to enjoy every ball, run, wicket and catch from every international tournament for many years to come, and we're all hugely excited to see what's in store,” he said.

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