The International Cricket Council (ICC) has today unveiled a major events media rights deal in Sri Lanka with Maharaja TV (MTV), through the end of 2025, as it closes in on concluding its broadcast partner portfolio for the next two years.
The linear broadcast rights will be exploited by MTV’s free-to-air (FTA) channels - TV1, Shakthi TV, and Sirasa TV - while the www.sirasatv.lk platform will do the same for the digital streaming rights.
These platforms will cover all the ICC’s major men's and women's World Cups and other events until the end of 2025. These include the 2024 ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2024 and Women’s T20 World Cup, 2025 U19 Women’s T20 World Cup 2025, Men’s Champions Trophy, and Women’s Cricket World Cup.
A tender for media rights in Sri Lanka for the 2024-25 events period went live in February (at the same time as processes got underway in Bangladesh and Pakistan).
The deal represents an extension for MTV, which also provided Sri Lankan viewers with coverage of the last major event during the previous ICC events and media rights cycle, the men's Cricket World Cup late last year in India.
Geoff Allardice, chief executive at the ICC, said: “We are delighted to be partnering with MTV which is an exciting addition to our suite of broadcast partners. Sri Lanka has such a rich history of cricket and this partnership is a fantastic opportunity to create more fans who can enjoy the sport.”
Chevron Daniel, group director at Capital Maharaja Group (owner of MTV), added: “We are delighted that MTV has successfully secured the exclusive broadcasting rights for world cricket in Sri Lanka for the next two years especially considering CMG’s close association with cricket in Sri Lanka since over many decades.”
At the 2023 men's World Cup, Sri Lanka failed to make it out of the group stages and finished ninth out of 10 teams.
The nation had been initially due to host the men's Under-19 World Cup earlier this year, only to be replaced as a host by South Africa following the ICC suspending Sri Lanka Cricket for a short period.
The rights tie-up means the ICC is now very close to completing its partner line-up of broadcasters for at least the next couple of years.
Deals have been unveiled in the various major cricket markets - including in India, the UK, Australia, the Middle East and North Africa, the US, the Caribbean and Latin America, Bangladesh, and Pakistan.
Many of those deals either run through 2028 or 2031.
The last tie-up unveiled came in Bangladesh earlier this month, where the Total Sports Marketing agency will distribute the rights to Nagorik TV and Banglalink - also through the end of 2025.
Only New Zealand now remains as a traditional cricket market where a deal has not been disclosed.
