beIN Media Group and ECB agree six-year broadcast deal for Mena region

The best of English cricket will soon be broadcast across the MiddleEast and North Africa (Mena) following a deal signed yesterday by theEngland & Wales Cricket Board (ECB) and broadcaster beIN MediaGroup. Under the six-year deal, beIN Media Group will screen premium cricketclashes including India’s 2018 and 2022 tours to England, as well as theAshes series in the UK in 2019. beIN Media Group last week announced anexclusive deal to broadcast  Cricket Australia content in the Menaregion, starting with the 2017-18 Ashes on 23 November.Adding to the international matches, the ECB deal means beIN Media Groupwill screen selected matches from ECB’s domestic programme includingaction from the T20 Blast, Royal London One-Day Cup and the SpecsaversCounty Championship – as well as ECB’s new eight-team T20 competitionfrom 2020.Alongside the agreement, beIN Media Group has announced plans tointroduce a dedicated beIN SPORTS cricket channel in the Mena region in2018. The channel will screen the broadcaster’s portfolio of premiuminternational and domestic cricket, including ECB and Cricket Australiacontent, as well as original programming, documentaries and magazineshows. Today’s agreement with the ECB will cover the home internationalprogramme for both England’s men’s and women’s teams across all threeformats of the game. All ECB games will be available in HD viasubscription channels and online. Cricket fans in Mena can also lookforward to watching selected games in Ultra HD over the coming yearswith 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 followsa number of rights renewals over the past six months, including theexclusive rights to broadcast the UEFA Champions League and EuropaLeague in the Mena region for a further three years.Commenting on the announcement, Yousef al-Obaidly, Deputy CEO, beINMedia Group, said: “Today’s announcement strengthens beIN Media Group’ssports portfolio, bringing more of the world’s best cricket to fansacross the Middle East and North Africa.“We are thrilled to partner with the ECB at such an exciting time forEnglish cricket, building on a similar agreement signed this month withCricket Australia. Together, these acquisitions and the upcoming launchof our dedicated cricket channel will deliver high quality, in-depthcricket coverage to the rapidly growing audience in the Mena region. “These agreements are the latest in our ambitious plans to deliver moresports coverage across the region and further enhance our position asthe undisputed first choice sports and entertainment broadcaster.” Tom Harrison, CEO of the England and Wales Cricket Board, said: “We’revery pleased to welcome beIN Media Group to our broader family ofbroadcast partners and excited by their plans to create their owndedicated cricket channel for the first time. Our international anddomestic teams are attracting an ever-expanding global audience and thisnew partnership will give even more cricket fans worldwide anopportunity 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 tourto England among the highlights viewers can look forward to in the nexttwo years – this is a comprehensive and compelling package of rightswhich will help give cricket excellent exposure in the Mena region.”