Disney Star has retained the television broadcast and digital streaming rights for cricket in India till 2027, the International Cricket Council (ICC) announced on August 27.
“Disney Star will be the home of all ICC cricket in India for the next four years having won the TV and digital rights to both men’s and women’s global events through to the end of 2027,” ICC said in a statement.
The global cricket body said the rights were awarded to the media group following a “single round sealed bid” process, without disclosing the amount in its press release.
The sealed bid process, also known as the closed-loop bid process, has yielded a “significant uplift to the rights fee” from the previous cycle, it added.
According to sources tracking the development, Disney Star’s bid was close to $3 billion, which is equivalent to around Rs 24,000 crore, for both digital and TV rights in the Indian subcontinent region.
The major ICC tournaments, which Disney Star would be able to broadcast over the next four years due to the winning of this bid, includes the men’s ODI world cup to be held next year in India, the women’s T20 world cup to be held in Bangladesh in 2025, the women’s ODI world cup scheduled in India in 2025 and the men’s T20 world cup slated for 2026 in India and Sri Lanka.
“Having a broadcast and digital partner for women’s events in India is a significant step forward in our ambition to accelerate the growth of the women’s game. Disney Star presented impressive plans for the promotion of women’s cricket and they clearly share our vision so I’m incredibly excited by the size of the opportunity ahead,” ICC Chair Greg Barclay said.
The bid was won by Disney Star two months after it successfully retained the television rights for the Indian Premier League (IPL) for Rs 3,575 crore, for the period between 2023 and 2027.
“With the acquisition of the ICC Digital and TV broadcast rights, Disney Star has further strengthened its status as the premier destination for marquee cricket events in the country,” K Madhavan, Country Manager & President, Disney Star said.
“The extension of the ICC rights adds to our strong portfolio of cricket properties which also include the television rights for IPL (2023-27), digital rights to Cricket Australia (2024-31), BCCI broadcast rights through the 2024 and Cricket South Africa (end of 2023-24 season),” Madhavan added.