MUMBAI: Sony Pictures Networks India (SPN) Wednesday confirmed the extension of its partnership with England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) for the exclusive television and digital rights for six years until the year 2028 in India along with Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Nepal, Afghanistan, Bhutan, Myanmar, and Maldives.
The renewal will give SPN the exclusive rights to broadcast all senior Men’s International and Women’s International along with domestic competitions on its sports channels. The exclusive content from ECB will also be streamed on SPN’s premium OTT platform SonyLIV.
SPN will get access to around 250 days of international men’s cricket, including Men’s 5-match Test series and limited over series between England and India, and Women’s series between the two nations as well. England and India have been involved in some thrilling cricket matches including the recent India’s tour of England, which had the test series being tied 2-2 and the Indian team winning both the T20 & ODI series 2-1.
The deal includes other iconic series like The Ashes, as well as matches against other top teams like Pakistan, New Zealand, South Africa, and others.
Apart from the international cricket, Sony Sports also has the rights to telecast domestic competitions that include LV=Insurance County Championship, Vitality Blast and Royal London Cup. The Vitality Blast is Twenty20 cricket league played in England and Wales and the Royal London Cup is a fifty-over limited overs cricket competition for the England and Wales first class counties.
SportzPower had earlier reported:
Coming to the ECB media rights, which Sony has gone all in to retain, it bears noting the $150m SPN paid for the current five-year cycle (2018-2022) was for a lower price than what rival network Star India had paid in the previous one to that. Reason? Sony benefited from the fact that Star was not ready to enter into a bidding war as it had already “broken the bank” to ensure that all the prime cricketing properties in world cricket were in its kitty. With IPL, ICC and BCCI rights in the locker, Star took a calculated call to let go of the England and Australia cricket rights it had held for over a decade.
As for what Sony has committed to tie up the rights renewal, industry sources tell SportzPower it is $250m, a $100m mark-up over what it paid last time round.
In terms of India cricket the six-year rights offer, there are three tours by the Men in Blue in the upcoming cycle:
2025 – 5 Tests
2026 – 3 ODIs + 5 T20s
2028 – 3 ODIs + 5 T20s
As for the other three years, Australia visits England:
2023 – Ashes
2024 – 5 ODIs + 3 T20s
2027 – Ashes
Three years of India visiting and three years when Australia comes calling should hopefully ensure distribution revenues are protected would presumably be the thinking within the Sony strategy team. Or so SportzPower believes.
Commenting on the rights renewal, N.P. Singh, managing director and CEO, SPN, said: “SPN has had an outstanding association with the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB), that has enabled us to bring premiere sporting content to our viewers who enjoy cricket. The extension of the broadcast partnership is a testament to our strong portfolio of sports content in the country, which we have successfully built and nurtured over the years. This association is an opportunity to bring to the Indian audience an unparalleled viewing experience across the Sony Sports Network and our digital platform SonyLIV. This partnership will only bolster our endeavour further.”
Rajesh Kaul, chief revenue officer, Distribution and head – Sports Business, SPN, added: “We, at Sony Pictures Networks India are happy to extend our long-standing partnership with England and Wales Cricket Board. The English cricket team is amongst the most formidable in the world, and we look forward to broadcasting high quality cricket played in England during primetime viewing hours including the 21 matches featuring India between 2023 to 2028. In addition to this, Team England has elevated global interest in their new brand of test cricket led by their captain Ben Stokes & coach Brendon McCullum. The England-India rivalry has always been an exciting proposition for cricket fans around the world and our viewers can look forward to some thrilling cricket action until 2028.”
Clare Connor, interim CEO, England and Wales Cricket Board, noted: “We’re delighted to extend this partnership for another six years, broadcasting England Men’s and Women’s home international cricket to a passionate global audience. This partnership also enables us to bring the men’s County game to the biggest cricket audience in the world. After the thrilling conclusion of the England v India Men’s Test series last month, there is so much fantastic cricket to look forward to over the coming years, including the Women’s series between England and India next month. I am sure fans will continue to be entertained and enthralled by the contests between our two countries.”
Related report
Sony goes big to retain ECB rights in subcon for next 6 years
