Times Internet, the Indian media giant that owns cricket broadcaster Willow TV, has acquired exclusive rights to show India’s home bilateral series in North America, the Middle East and North Africa (MENA), and Southeast Asia through March 2028.
The long-term agreement was brokered by UK-based sports marketing agency Pitch International.
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Viacom18, the global rightsholder of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) and domestic matches, has sub-licensed the global BCCI media rights, excluding India, to Pitch.
The Indian media and entertainment heavyweight secured exclusive linear and digital rights to home Indian national and domestic cricket matches in August for five years in a deal valued at INR59.63 billion ($721 million).
Times Internet’s deal covers all Indian men’s and women’s home matches, along with domestic competitions, excluding the Indian Premier League (IPL) Twenty20 competition.
For the men’s internationals, the contract includes 25 test matches, 27 one-day internationals, and 36 T20 internationals.
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The major Indian media company also owns the Cricbuzz website, which it will use to market rights in some markets, including digital clips.
Times Internet’s deal will strengthen Willow TV’s position as the dominant cricket broadcaster in North America.
Earlier this year, Willow TV agreed an extended four-year broadcast rights deal with the International Cricket Council to cover its events in the US and Canada from 2024 until the end of 2027.
In the IPL e-auction last year, Times Internet secured rights to the competition in the US and MENA.
Times partnered with e-commerce platform Noon and telecoms firm Etisalat to distribute IPL rights in the MENA region and is expected to enter similar distribution partnerships for BCCI rights.
Satyan Gajwani, vice chairman of Times Internet, said: “Willow TV has a long-standing position as the home of cricket in the US. With our foray into the Middle East, I’m confident that Cricbuzz and the Times of India Group will be able to bring a best-in-class consumer viewing experience to more cricket fans around the world.”
