Heavyweight UK pay-TV broadcaster TNT Sports will exclusively cover the next edition of the iconic 'Ashes' cricket series between Australia and England.
TNT Sports, owned by Warner Bros. Discovery, secured the rights by extending its contract with Cricket Australia (CA) as the exclusive UK broadcaster of international cricket played in that country, through March next year, with the Ashes set to run between November this year and January 2026.
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Indeed, TNT (previously known as BT Sport before WBD bought 50% of the BT Group's stake in the sports broadcaster) has covered every men's Ashes series in Australia – made up of five test matches – since the 2017-18 edition. The upcoming Ashes will be the first covered by TNT Sports as opposed to BT Sport.
The last deal between BT Sport and CA was struck just before the previous Ashes in Australia (2021-22), and ran through Australia's 2024-25 season. At the time, it was reported as having a total value equivalent to $98 million.
This latest tie-up, therefore, represents a significantly shorter-term deal, only running for eight months, whereas the previous deal ran for four Australian summers.
TNT Sports will cover the Ashes, as well as all other international cricket in Australia through March, on both its linear channels as well as through the discovery+ streaming platform. There will also, TNT Sports has also said, be extensive digital and social coverage of the latest edition of the iconic series.
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By GlobalDataAustralia currently holds the Ashes, and has done so since 2017-18. The last series between the two men's sides in Australia was won 4-0 by the hosts.
The deal has been unveiled less than 48 hours following the end of the England home test match summer, and a drawn series against India.
TNT Sports' main sports rights rival, Sky, covered that series through a major deal with the England and Wales Cricket Board stretching through the 2028 season that guarantees its coverage of all home England men's and women's fixtures.
In terms of overseas rights, however, TNT will air multiple England tours between September and January, including trips to Ireland, New Zealand, and Sri Lanka, as well as the Ashes.
In addition, Australia's men's team's home series against South Africa and India, and their women's side's games against India, will be covered by TNT Sports over the next eight March.
Todd Greenberg, Cricket Australia's chief executive, has said: "With a highly anticipated season ahead, including the Ashes, high-profile men’s series against India and South Africa, and a multi-format women’s series against India, our partnership with TNT Sports ensures fans across the UK will get great coverage and won’t miss a moment of the action."
Domestically, coverage of the Ashes will be provided by pay-TV operator Foxtel and by commercial network Seven West Media – both of these broadcasters will show the five tests in their entirety.
Scott Young, executive vice president at WBD Sports Europe, added: "Quite simply, the Ashes transcends cricket. This winter, we will have two great sides … go toe-to-toe in one of sports' biggest rivalries. It will be compelling, must-watch sporting drama at its finest.”
The first 2025-26 Ashes test begins in Perth on November 21, with tests to then be played in Brisbane, Adelaide, Melbourne, and Sydney.
In terms of recently-unveiled TNT Sports tie-ups, early July saw WBD secure a major broadcast partnership with Extreme H, the nascent hydrogen-powered off-road racing series.
The deal will see Extreme H aired in more than 50 territories across Europe via the WBD-owned Eurosport channels, and through TNT Sports in the UK and Ireland.
