TNT Sports close to landing England white-ball Australia tour as Channel 5 eye free-to-air T20
TNT Sports poised to land England's white-ball Australia tour as Channel 5 eye free-to-air T20
TNT Sports is on the verge of securing the live UK broadcast rights for England's white-ball tour of Australia next month, in a deal that could see at least one match shown free-to-air on Channel 5.
The Guardian has learned that Channel 5 is in advanced talks with Cricket Australia over a highlights package for the eight-match tour, and is also discussing live rights for one of the five T20 internationals. The terrestrial broadcaster already holds live rights for two home men's and two women's T20s each summer under a four-year deal that began this year, but has never before broadcast an England match staged overseas.
The opening T20 of the five-match series, at the MCG in Melbourne on 21 November, is the fixture of greatest interest to Channel 5. Its 8.15am start on a Saturday is expected to draw the largest UK audience of the tour.
If the agreement is finalised, it would mark the first time an England overseas match has been shown free-to-air since Channel 4 acquired the rights for a Test series in India in 2021, during the final Covid-19 lockdown.
Paramount Skydance link raises prospect of closer ties
TNT Sports has broadcast England's last three Ashes series in Australia, so its decision to bid for a white-ball tour — which also attracted interest from Sky Sports and Dazn — comes as little surprise. Channel 5's potential involvement, however, is a more intriguing development, raising the prospect of deeper cooperation between the two over sports rights given that both are owned by US media giant Paramount Skydance.
Channel 5 also picked up a highlights deal for the Commonwealth Games in the UK last summer, with the event broadcast exclusively live on TNT Sports — a template that may now be extended to cricket.
McCullum's squad to fly after Pakistan tri-series
Brendon McCullum's white-ball squad are due to fly to Australia at the start of next month following a brief return home after the conclusion of the one-day international tri-series currently taking place in Pakistan, where England are struggling to reach the final after successive defeats to the hosts and Sri Lanka over the past seven days.
After criticism of their preparation for last winter's Ashes series, the England and Wales Cricket Board has scheduled a 50-over warm-up game at the WACA on 7 November, ahead of a three-match series that begins at Perth Stadium on 13 November, with the five T20s following a week later.
Changing market for overseas rights
The value of overseas cricket rights has fallen in recent years, with the result that most of England's winter tours have been sold only at the last minute. Sky Sports have bought the rights for England's Test series in South Africa over Christmas and are broadcasting the tri-series in Pakistan, but have moved away from signing long-term deals with overseas boards.
TNT Sports declined to comment, but Cricket Australia is understood to be confident the deal will be completed.