The International Cricket Council (ICC) has declared that its men's World Test Championship (WTC) Final will be broadcast across 100 territories to a potential audience of 700 million.
The match between India and Australia, starting today (June 7) and bringing to an end the 2021-23 WTC cycle, will also receive coverage on the ICC.tv in-house network, which broadcasts top-tier ICC events in regions without broadcast deals in place.
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In India, coverage will be provided both in English and four regional languages by the heavyweight pay-TV broadcaster Star Sports, which holds global rights to ICC events until the conclusion of the current broadcast cycle at the end of this year. The Disney+ Hotstar streaming platform will live-stream all the action as well.
The country’s public service broadcaster Doordarshan will also show action from each day’s play at The Oval in south London via the DD Sports channel.
For an Australian audience, commercial free-to-air Channel 7 will cover the test live both on its linear channel and via the digital platform 7Plus. The network will include pitch-side and studio analysis in its match production.
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Elsewhere, the final will be shown by pay-TV’s Sky in the UK and New Zealand, by SuperSport in sub-Saharan Africa, and by Willow TV in the US and Canada.
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By GlobalDataOther broadcast partners include Sportsmax in the Caribbean, Gazi TV in Bangladesh, and Maharaja TV in Sri Lanka.
ICC.tv will provide access to the competition finale in other markets, “ensuring genuine global live coverage of the ultimate test.” That service was launched in 2021, through a partnership between the ICC and Endeavor Streaming.
Highlights will be available from the ICC’s official Instagram and Facebook channels, with clips available in the Indian subcontinent and five-minute packages globally.
In host market the UK, meanwhile, the public service BBC Sport website will provide in-play and highlights segments.
The ICC has said its own production will feature a full match-day program for broadcasters who take the feed, with a 30-minute build-up, interval shows during the lunch and tea breaks, and a post-matchday wrap-up.
In this, ICC.tv is supported by UK-based TV production firm Sunset+Vine, and by the NEP Broadcast Solutions equipment services partner.
The governing body has said viewers will be “treated to state-of-the-art coverage which will include a minimum of 35 cameras.”
Aside from this, there will be a drone camera, a buggy camera, as well as a roving ground-level view, and Spidercam.
In addition, there will be extensive fielding analysis through Field 360, powered by an AI live-player tracking engine to “highlight fielding positions and strategies.” This will be provided by Quiditch Innovation Labs.
As well as the match coverage and highlights, ICC.tv will provide off-field content such as “player profiles, team features, match previews, venue features, and other behind-the-scenes content.”
The ICC has also created a specific online site, worldtestchampionship.com, as well as a mobile app. These will feature their own dedicated content, it has said.
In India, meanwhile, Star Sports has announced deals with 28 sponsors in total for its coverage of the high-profile fixture.
The Star linear channels have brought in 15 partners, added to 13 onboarded by Disney Hotstar.
These brands include Bajaj Allianz, Layer'r Shot, Pokerbaazi, MRF, Samco Securities, Jindal Panther Steel, UltraTech Cement, DBS Bank, Atomberg Technologies, Maruti Suzuki, Charged By Thums Up, Hero MotoCorp, Cadbury Dairy Milk, Livguard Energy Technologies, and Allied Blenders and Distilleries.
Ajit Varghese, head of network for advertising sales at Disney Star, said: “The curiosity surrounding the ICC World Test Championship Final between two cricket heavyweights is sure to generate excitement in the country. We have collaborated with advertisers from various domains, across Star Sports and Disney+ Hotstar to help them achieve their desired business objectives through this marquee event. The response has been overwhelming so far, resulting in the sale of all key features well in advance.”
In addition to the 15 sponsors, Star Sports has brought in 40 advertisers and 45 brands in total.
