The International Cricket Council (ICC) governing body has issued a tender for all-encompassing rights covering its second-tier Pathway events, through 2027.
There is only one package on offer, comprising the 56 Pathway events over the next three years. In total, 1246 games are involved in those events, which include regional qualifying tournaments for occasions such as the men’s and women’s Cricket World Cups, as well as the T20 World Cups (for both genders) in 2026 and 2028.
The rights available, meanwhile, include exclusive broadcast rights in India, as well as event sponsorship, data, and production.
In terms of coverage across the rest of the world aside from India (cricket’s largest market), the ICC has said this will be taken care of by its own over-the-top platform, ICC.tv.
To access the tender documents, interested parties should email iccmediarights2024-2031@icc-cricket.com.
The ICC launched ICC.tv in 2021, through a partnership with the Endeavor Streaming service.
Anurag Dahiya, chief commercial officer at the ICC, has said: “They [the Pathway events] play an important role in the development of cricket across our emerging members and provide context to ICC global flagship events. With the competitive and exciting cricket showcased in these events, the next three years present a fantastic opportunity to engage and strengthen relationships with fans across markets globally.”
The ICC carried out media rights tenders for its primary events, across its main markets such as India, the UK, Australia, and North America, during 2023 and 2024.
ICC.tv also covers these primary events, such as the various men’s and women’s World Cups, in markets where cricket is not seen as one of the most popular sports.
In addition, the service has also previously provided a home for bilateral home series played by Australia’s national teams, across multiple European and Asian markets.
Earlier this month, meanwhile, the ICC officially sanctioned the European T20 Premier League, a Twenty20 men’s franchise tournament that will hold its inaugural edition in July and August this year.
That tournament will, reportedly, feature six teams initially.
