New Media Deals for England & Wales Cricket Board
LONDON, February 01, 2012
- Sky captures broadcasting rights for all live UK international
and county cricket from 2014-17
- Channel 5 renews its agreement to broadcast TV highlights
coverage from 2014-17
- The BBC agrees a new 6 year Radio rights deal with the
ECB for
Test Match Special
SNR Denton’s sports law practice has advised its long standing
client the England & Wales Cricket Board (ECB) on new
broadcasting agreements for both live matches and highlights in the
UK from 2014-17, as well as the renewal of the ECB’s agreement with
BBC
Radio.
Sky Sports bid successfully for the rights to show live domestic
and international cricket from England and Wales, starting at the
end of its current contract. The new contract will begin in 2014
and will run until at least 2017 (with an option to extend the
contract until 2019) and will include live coverage of England Test
matches, one-day internationals and International Twenty20
matches.
Channel 5 will continue to screen its early evening highlights
programme as part of a new four-year deal and the ECB has also secured a
6 year deal with the BBC for live radio
coverage of International and domestic cricket on Test Match
Special.
The SNR Denton team comprised Media Rights specialists Adrian Barr-Smith and Stephen Ridgway and regulatory lawyer
Alex Haffner.
Commenting on the deals, Adrian Barr-Smith said: “We are
delighted to have advised the ECB and achieved
another successful conclusion to its UK TV rights tender process and to help
them to ensure the continued development and enhancement of cricket
in England and Wales.”
John Perera, Commercial Director at the ECB added: “SNR
Denton’s team have become trusted and valued partners of the
ECB in
making sure our media rights sales process is effectively managed
and achieves the best possible result in what is currently a very
difficult market. The successful outcome will enable the
ECB to
continue to invest in the game to the benefit of all our
stakeholders and in particular cricket fans.”
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