The best of English cricket will soon be broadcast across the Middle
East and North Africa (Mena) following a deal signed yesterday by the
England & Wales Cricket Board (ECB) and broadcaster beIN Media
Group.
Under the six-year deal, beIN Media Group will screen premium cricket
clashes including India’s 2018 and 2022 tours to England, as well as the
Ashes series in the UK in 2019. beIN Media Group last week announced an
exclusive deal to broadcast Cricket Australia content in the Mena
region, starting with the 2017-18 Ashes on 23 November.
Adding to the international matches, the ECB deal means beIN Media Group
will screen selected matches from ECB’s domestic programme including
action from the T20 Blast, Royal London One-Day Cup and the Specsavers
County Championship – as well as ECB’s new eight-team T20 competition
from 2020.
Alongside the agreement, beIN Media Group has announced plans to
introduce a dedicated beIN SPORTS cricket channel in the Mena region in
2018. The channel will screen the broadcaster’s portfolio of premium
international and domestic cricket, including ECB and Cricket Australia
content, as well as original programming, documentaries and magazine
shows.
Today’s agreement with the ECB will cover the home international
programme for both England’s men’s and women’s teams across all three
formats of the game. All ECB games will be available in HD via
subscription channels and online. Cricket fans in Mena can also look
forward to watching selected games in Ultra HD over the coming years
with the recent launch of beIN Media Group’s 4K channel.
beIN Media Group will broadcast cricket in more than 24 countries,
including the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Oman, Kuwait,
Qatar, Lebanon, Iraq, Egypt and Morocco.
The deal expands beIN Media Group’s premium cricket offering and follows
a number of rights renewals over the past six months, including the
exclusive rights to broadcast the UEFA Champions League and Europa
League in the Mena region for a further three years.
Commenting on the announcement, Yousef al-Obaidly, Deputy CEO, beIN
Media Group, said: “Today’s announcement strengthens beIN Media Group’s
sports portfolio, bringing more of the world’s best cricket to fans
across the Middle East and North Africa.
“We are thrilled to partner with the ECB at such an exciting time for
English cricket, building on a similar agreement signed this month with
Cricket Australia. Together, these acquisitions and the upcoming launch
of our dedicated cricket channel will deliver high quality, in-depth
cricket coverage to the rapidly growing audience in the Mena region.
“These agreements are the latest in our ambitious plans to deliver more
sports coverage across the region and further enhance our position as
the undisputed first choice sports and entertainment broadcaster.”
Tom Harrison, CEO of the England and Wales Cricket Board, said: “We’re
very pleased to welcome beIN Media Group to our broader family of
broadcast partners and excited by their plans to create their own
dedicated cricket channel for the first time. Our international and
domestic teams are attracting an ever-expanding global audience and this
new partnership will give even more cricket fans worldwide an
opportunity to follow all the action and excitement from our game.
“With the 2019 home men’s and women’s Ashes series and India’s next tour
to England among the highlights viewers can look forward to in the next
two years – this is a comprehensive and compelling package of rights
which will help give cricket excellent exposure in the Mena region.”
beIN Media Group Deputy CEO Yousef al-Obaidly and Tom Harrison, CEO, England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) seal the deal yesterday.