TNT Sports is the firm favourite to broadcast next winter’s Ashes with rivals Sky showing little interest in the rights.
TNT – formerly BT Sport – has held the Ashes rights via a deal with Cricket Australia for all its home internationals since the 2017-18 series and is understood to be the strong favourite to re-sign for another four-year cycle.
England have not won the Ashes since 2015 and will be looking to correct a dreadful record in Australia, where they have lost 13 and drawn two of their last 15 Tests, in a blockbuster series that will define Ben Stokes and Brendon McCullum’s Bazball project.
Cricket Australia is thought to be seeking in the region of £15 million per year for the four-year deal to show all their home internationals. The tender process is well underway, but a deal may not be finalised for some time. Sky is not showing great interest in acquiring the rights, part of a wider strategy of moving away from broadcasting overseas bilateral tours.
Sky has a bumper deal with the England and Wales Cricket Board worth £220 million per year to show all home international cricket, as well as rights for all World Cups and other ICC events. It has tended to show overseas series only when picking up a last-minute, short-term deal at a dramatically cut price, as it did with England’s Test tour of Pakistan in October. Sky still has a deal with Cricket South Africa to show its home internationals, however. It also broadcasts a number of T20 leagues, such as the Big Bash, SA20 and Indian Premier League.
TNT has picked up plenty of overseas rights packages in recent years. As well as Australia, it has a long-term deal with the Board of Control for Cricket in India, so is currently showing England’s white-ball tour. It also broadcast England’s tours of New Zealand and West Indies before Christmas, and will show Australia’s forthcoming tour of Sri Lanka.
While TNT has been prepared to buy rights packages, it has tended to take the host broadcaster’s commentary feed, then use pundits in a studio back home (or, in the case of last year’s tour of India, in Sweden), rather than sending its own panel to the tour. By contrast when it won the rights for Pakistan, Sky sent host Ian Ward, commentators Mike Atherton and Nasser Hussain, plus a producer. It remains to be seen if TNT will send its own team to Australia once a rights deal is finalised.
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