Giles Clarke, the chairman of the England and Wales Cricket Board, today heralded the International Cricket Council’s record breaking television deal with broadcasters STAR Sports as “ground-breaking”.
Mr Clarke, as chairman of the ICC’s Financial and Commercial Affairs Committee, played a leading part in the contract for the ICC’s audio/visual rights from 2015 – 2023.
After the new arrangement was announced in Dubai yesterday, Mr Clarke said: “This innovative and exciting partnership will underpin the long-term financial health of the global game and provide real stability for all our full members. It will help the ICC and our members to grow participation in areas such as the women’s game where there have been great strides made as well as supporting the emerging nations.
“This deal benefits all ICC members and will allow them to improve their competitiveness and public interest in a targeted and sustainable way.
“This is a momentous day for world cricket which highlights the great commercial attractiveness of our sport and the ever increasing levels of interest in our outstanding world-class events.
“As I said this deal will benefit all the ICC members to grow the sport and that, of course, includes the England and Wales Cricket Board. It means that there will be important increases in income for the ECB which will benefit all areas of the game in our country.
“In particular we will be looking to drive up the participation and provide opportunities to play cricket in the urban inner cities. We also aim to engage with all the different leagues, of all ethnicity, who play the nation’s summer sport so enthusiastically.
“We will also be able to continue to support the capital investment programmes of our first-class counties. We have witnessed a massive change in the spectator experience at our grounds and we are now in a position to underpin these exciting new developments.
“This is such a significant contract for everyone and it was gratifying to see that the members were delighted with the most transparent process in ICC history and we must thank the world renowned law firm Olswangs for their assistance.”
ICC chairman N Srinivasan added: “We are delighted that our partnership with STAR Sports has extended to the next cycle of ICC events. This illustrates the strength of relationship we have built in the current cycle and the value we have delivered since 2007.
“STAR Sports has an outstanding reputation as a sports broadcaster and it played an integral role in promoting the sport by taking coverage of the ICC events to a truly global audience and we look forward to this continuing for another eight years.
“The ICC is committed to nurturing and protecting world cricket and, as such, this commitment for the next eight years will ensure greater stability as well as increased funding for developing and established nations. Emerging nations will have access to the largest funding resource in the history of the game and the board has fully endorsed this framework as the best means of safeguarding the future of the sport.
“As we emerge from a hugely challenging global economic downturn, it is vital that the ICC continues to lead the governance of the world game. I would like to congratulate all of the various parties on securing this agreement and look forward to cricket becoming an even bigger and better global game.”