Under the terms of the deal, ESPN Star will air more than 191 days of live International cricket action from Australia, including 27 Test matches, 44 one-day internationals and 12 Twenty20 games across television, internet, mobile and radio. Importantly, the rights also include two tours by India, which garners huge audiences on the broadcaster. India is scheduled to play four Test matches against Australia and a tri-series with England as the third team in the 2014-2015 season, and India will visit Australia again for seven one-day-internationals and two Twenty20 matches in the 2015-2016 season.
South Africa, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, West Indies and New Zealand will tour Australia in the next five years, and England will also play an Ashes series on Australian soil in 2013-14. Cricket Australia’s top-class domestic cricket will also be carried by ESPN Star, with tournaments such as the KFC Big Bash T20, the four-day Bupa Sheffield Shield tournament and the Ryobi One Day Cup all on the schedule. Financial details of the contract renewal, which will run until 2017, have not been disclosed.
“ESPN Star Sports has been a wonderful and innovative partner for a long while and to be able to extend this critical partnership is great news for us all as well as for the cricket loving public,” said James Sutherland, Cricket Australia’s chief executive. ESPN Star managing director Manu Sawhney added: “This partnership with Cricket Australia is a testament to our commitment to serve our fans with more action packed cricket for years to come.”
Sawhney added: “With so many premium international series including two India tours and Ashes along with a robust mix of increasingly popular domestic tournaments, fans in the Indian sub-continent can look forward to top quality action from down under on ESPN Star Sports. Now, with such an enviable line-up of cricket including Cricket Australia, England and Wales Cricket Board, International Cricket Council and Champions League Twenty20, we are pleased to further strengthen our position as the biggest cricket network and the No.1 sports content provider in Asia.”