OSN Lands International Cricket Council Broadcasting Rights In Eight-Year Deal

Pay-TV network OSN "secured the rights" to broadcast all Int'l Cricket Council events for eight years across the Middle East and North Africa, according to Triska Hamid of THE NATIONAL. OSN "already holds the rights to the 2015 ICC Cricket World Cup and has renewed the rights from 2015 to 2023 through an arrangement with 21st Century Fox-owned Star." Although the ICC "did not disclose the final value of the rights fee," reports in the Indian media said that the deal that runs until '23 is valued at about $1.98B, significantly higher than the $1.1B awarded in '07. A value for the MENA region "was also not provided." Advertising agency Fusion 5's Elie Haber said, "There is a big Asian community, in the UAE. It’s the largest when it comes to the percentage of the population, so it is a big market." The large South Asian population in the Gulf Cooperation Council "presents a good opportunity for advertisers" (THE NATIONAL, 10/15).