Pay-TV broadcaster Sky Sports has secured rights in the UK and Ireland to cricket’s SA20, the new South African franchise-based Twenty20 league, in a five-year deal.

The agreement, announced today (December 3), will see Sky broadcast all 33 matches in the inaugural season of the competition, which begins on Saturday (January 10) and concludes with the final on February 11, on its Sky Sports Cricket channel.

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The league will feature six privately-owned teams that will play each other twice before a knockout stage comprising two semi-finals and the final.

The six teams – Joburg Super Kings, Pretoria Capitals, Durban’s Super Giants, Sunrisers Eastern Cape, Paarl Royals, and MI Cape Town – are owned by groups that have teams across various global leagues, including the prestigious Indian Premier League.

Among the players featuring in the league will be Jos Buttler and Sam Curran, both of whom were part of England's T20 World Cup-winning squad.

Sky’s deal for the competition runs until the end of the 2027 season.

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Bryan Henderson, director of cricket at Sky Sports, said: “We are thrilled to add the SA20 to our portfolio of cricket rights. We believe it will be a terrific competition with some of the best English players involved.”

SA20 was launched by Cricket South Africa in partnership with sub-Saharan pay-television broadcaster SuperSport, which will air the competition domestically.

It was announced in November that Viacom18, one of India’s leading entertainment networks, had secured SA20 rights in its home market for 10 years.

Online betting brand Betway, meanwhile, has been named as the title sponsor of the league in a multi-year deal.