Sri Lankan pay-TV broadcaster Dialog TV has snapped up rights to the next two years of major International Cricket Council (ICC) events, striking a deal with that governing body through January 2028.
A tie-up between the two parties has been unveiled today, with Dialog TV now holding exclusive Sri Lankan rights to cover ICC tournaments for the next two years.
Go deeper with GlobalData
Discover B2B Marketing That Performs
Combine business intelligence and editorial excellence to reach engaged professionals across 36 leading media platforms.
The deal covers eight tournaments in total – including the ICC Men's T20 World Cup, which will be part-hosted by Sri Lanka (alongside India) next February and March. Five men's and three women's tournaments are included in the agreement.
A tender for these rights (alongside similar packages in Bangladesh and Pakistan) was launched in late August.
The ICC has now said that, through this deal, Dialog TV will cover ICC events through a combination of free-to-air broadcasting and streaming, ensuring "expansive access to all matches."
For the last 18 months, these rights have been held on the island by Maharaja TV, in a deal unveiled last April that only runs through 2025.
US Tariffs are shifting - will you react or anticipate?
Don’t let policy changes catch you off guard. Stay proactive with real-time data and expert analysis.
By GlobalDataSanjog Gupta, chief executive (CEO) at the ICC, has said: "We are delighted to enter this partnership with Dialog Television in a country where cricket has enjoyed immense popularity. This agreement ensures that every fan will have front-row access to the game’s biggest moments."
Aside from in Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, and Pakistan, the ICC's other major broadcast rights deals in the various cricket-loving markets are all mostly long-term affairs.
In Pakistan, rights for the last 16 months or so have been held by PTV and Tower Sports, through a March 2024 tie-up.
In Bangladesh, meanwhile, rights were sold to the Total Sports Marketing agency (TSM) last April, with that firm in turn distributing the rights to Nagorik TV and Banglalink.
Supun Weerasinghe, Dialog Axiata's group CEO, added: "Through our broadcast and digital platforms, we are committed to providing high-quality coverage and engaging experiences that connect audiences with the sport they love.”
Last December, Dialog TV struck a deal with the Cricket South Africa (CSA) governing body, with those two teams facing off against each other at that point.
