England stay on Sky for three more years

THE ECB have agreed a new three-year TV deal with Sky Sports for live coverage of England’s home matches as they seek to capitalise on the extraordinary resurgence of Ben Stokes’ Test team.

The governing body had hoped to secure Sky’s backing for a further five or 10 years, but with little competition from other networks, they have had to settle for an extension which will keep the vast majority of England matches behind a paywall until 2027. The terms are similar to those of the current contract, which has two years to run, with Sky paying around £220million a year for exclusive rights to broadcast home Tests, one-day internationals and T20s, as well as the Hundred and the T20 Blast. Sky have backed away from covering England’s overseas tours in recent years, allowing BT Sport to snap up the rights for series in australia, new Zealand and West indies, but remain the home of English cricket during the summer. in addition to providing financial security for the ECB, the new contract enshrines the importance of the Hundred to the domestic calendar, with the competition set to remain at the height of the summer in primetime TV slots for another three years, despite objections from some counties. although extending for three years in a difficult market will be largely viewed as a good deal for the sport, the contract may disappoint traditional fans as there will be no significant increase in the number of Blast matches shown live — despite complaints this season.

The ECB and Sky declined to comment.