England & Wales Cricket Board Chair Colin Graves is aiming to begin talks with broadcasters at the end of the year to agree to a rights deal that will guarantee the sport’s survival in the U.K. for the next "10 to 15 years," according to Nick Hoult of the London TELEGRAPH. Graves’s exec team at the ECB is working with an external company to "devise four or five options for the domestic structure, primarily a new Twenty20 competition, that will underpin talks with broadcasters for a new deal" to run from '20. The ECB will present its options to the counties in September and Graves believes once they agree on "the look of a new Twenty20 tournament a broadcast deal can be signed with some content to be shown on free-to-air television." Graves reiterated his desire to have "all 18 counties involved." Graves: "It all revolves around our new broadcasting deal. We will have more money and new money coming in and we have to use that new money to make sure the whole game is sustainable. ... It is not just about money. Yes, money is important but it is about everything: audience, participation, reach and entertainment" (TELEGRAPH, 5/18).
