Star India bags ICC rights until 2023 in biggest-ever deal

Star TV India has bagged the rights to show international cricket under the ICC for the next years, in what has been branded the biggest-ever deal.

The deal is reportedly worth around $2 billion – the largest ever spent on cricket to be broadcast in India. As part of the package, Star TV India/Star TV Middle East will have access to audio-visual rights to 18 tournaments between 2015 to 2023. These include two ICC Cricket World Cups (2019 and 2023), two ICC Champions Trophy tournaments (2017 and 2021) and two ICC World Twenty20 tournaments (2016 and 2020).

Star TV stumped the likes of Sony, ZEE’s Ten Sports and Neo. Television Post reports that the renewal will help Star TV to cement its sway over sports broadcasting in India. In cricket, the broadcaster has rights to BCCI, England Cricket Board (ECB), Cricket Australia and Champions League T20. The decision to award the rights was made by the ICC Business Corporation (IBC) board, ICC�۪s commercial arm, during a meeting at the ICC headquarters in Dubai on Sunday. T

Commenting on the decision to name Star India and Star Middle East as successful bidders, ICC Chairman N Srinivasan said, ���We are delighted that our partnership with the Star group has extended to the next cycle of ICC events. This illustrates the strong relationship we have built in the current cycle and the value we have delivered since 2007. ���Star has an outstanding reputation as a sports broadcaster and has played an integral role in promoting and growing the game by taking coverage of ICC events to a truly global and record-breaking audience, and we look forward to this continuing for another eight years. ���This commitment for the next eight years will ensure greater stability for ICC members as well as increased funding for developing and established countries. Emerging nations will have access to the largest funding resource in the history of the game and the board has fully endorsed this framework as the best means of safeguarding the future of the sport.

Star India CEO Uday Shankar said, ���We are delighted and honoured to extend our partnership with the ICC. This is a tribute to Star�۪s commitment and the ICC�۪s trust in our ability to take the great game of cricket to the next level. Star will constantly attempt to reinvent the viewer experience to make cricket bigger and bigger.�۝ IBC�۪s finance and commercial affairs committee chairman Giles Clarke said, ���This innovative and exciting partnership will underpin the long-term financial health of the global game and provide real stability for all our members. It will help the ICC and our members to grow participation in areas such as the women�۪s game where there have been great strides made as well as supporting the emerging nations. This deal benefits all ICC members and will allow them to improve their competitiveness and public interest in a targeted and sustainable way. ���This is a momentous day for world cricket which highlights the great commercial attractiveness of our sport and the ever increasing levels of interest in our outstanding world-class events. The partnership will also guarantee increased promotion and marketing of the game in key markets across the globe.�۝ ICC chief executive David Richardson said, ���This agreement guarantees more money for all our members, thereby underpinning the growth and development of the game. Star has been an excellent partner for the ICC during the current rights cycle, promoting and supporting ICC events and cricket in general in the sub-continent, and I am pleased that we now have a chance to build on that success over the next eight years on a global level.�۝