Sky Sports has agreed a four-year UK rights deal for the Indian Premier League (IPL) and the Women’s Premier League (WPL) cricket competitions.
The deal with the pay-TV broadcaster comes into immediate effect and lasts until 2027. Subscribers will be able to watch all 74 IPL games live this season on Sky’s dedicated cricket channel, which is also available on the Now over-the-top (OTT) streaming platform.
Sky, which already has shown the WPL’s first two seasons, now becomes the sole UK broadcaster of the IPL. Last year, it was joined by DAZN as the league’s non-exclusive rightsholders in a single season agreement.
“The IPL and WPL are two fantastic competitions that see the world’s best players compete in front of a fanatical local audience – resulting in some of the most explosive and entertaining cricket in the calendar as we saw with the conclusion of the WPL on Sunday,” said Jonathan Licht, managing director at Sky Sports.
“We’re excited to bring these great live events to life on Sky Sports, adding to the already unrivalled cricket line up this year and giving fans access to more of the sport and players that they love.”
Sky’s coverage begins with the IPL’s opening game on 22nd March, with the Chennai Super Kings taking on Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB).
Ahead of the season-opener, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has added four new partners for the competition.
The group includes fantasy sports platform My11Circle and stockbroker firm Angel One, with both inking five-year partnerships. Meanwhile financial services specialist RuPay has extended its deal as an associate partner of the league for the next three years.
The BCCI has also confirmed Ceat will continue as the league’s strategic time-out partner for the next five years. Indian outlets reported last month that the tyre manufacturer will pay I₹ 240 crore (US$28.8 million) over the course of its contract.
Individual franchises are also gearing up for the start of the 2024 season by finalising their commercial partner rosters. Mumbai Indians have agreed a flurry of deals, including tie-ups with BP and Castrol, Pokémon, Battleground Mobile India and NIC Ice Creams.
Sunrisers Hyderabad have brought Centuary Mattress on-board as their official sleep sponsor, and Delhi Capitals have reached a deal for Acko to be their official insurance partner. In addition, Hindware has agreed sponsorship deals with two teams in RCB and Punjab Kings.
By SportsProMedia
