Sky "has beaten off competition from BT Sport to show international cricket’s showpiece events for the next eight years" after the Int'l Cricket Council signed its biggest rights deal, according to Nick Hoult of the London TELEGRAPH. The ICC "sold its rights to 18 tournaments" between '15 and '23. The ICC "did not reveal the size of the deal" but it is understood to be worth around $2.5B. Star Sports, the Asian-based broadcaster, can sell off territorial rights to host broadcasters around the world "which opened the possibility of BT Sport winning its first coverage of the England team." However, once the rights went to Star, "it became almost certain Sky, who are also part of the Rupert Murdoch stable, would retain its deal" to buy the U.K. rights for ICC tournaments, continuing its monopoly of showing live broadcasts of England cricket. The ICC’s deal "is the highest in its history" and outstrips the $1.1B Star paid for rights to int'l cricket for '07-15. The money from the new rights deal "will be split among the ICC’s members but under the new revenue share model pushed through this year by the three major nations -- India, Australia and England -- they will receive a bigger slice." The value to English cricket, once sponsorship and advertising are added, is estimated to be around £200M ($322M) "over the eight-year cycle." England & Wales Cricket Board Chair Giles Clarke hailed the deal as “groundbreaking.” Clarke said, “This deal will benefit all the ICC members to grow the sport and that, of course, includes the England & Wales Cricket Board. It means that there will be important increases in income for the ECB which will benefit all areas of the game in our country" (TELEGRAPH, 10/12).
