Disney Star has retained the TV and digital rights for both men’s and women’s ICC global events for the four-year-term, beginning 2024.
After a single-round sealed bidding process, the ICC Board decided that Disney-Star was the clear winner of the rights for the Indian sub-continent. According to a statement by the ICC, the sealed bid process has yielded a significant uplift to the rights fee from the previous cycle.
“We are delighted to continue to partner with Disney Star as the home of ICC cricket for the next four years which has delivered an outstanding result for our Members and will support our ambitious growth plans. They will play a crucial role in the future of our sport and connecting and engaging with more fans than ever before,” Greg Barclay, the ICC chair, said.
According to the guidelines set by the game’s governing body, if there is a tie between the bidders then only an e-auction was to be held to decide the successful bidder. But Star was declared a clear-winner after the first round. While in the past several media giants had shown concerns over the transparency of the process, quite a few top companies - Star, Sony, Zee, Viacom - were in the fray to bag the rights.
A couple of months ago, Star and Viacom bagged the TV and digital rights respectively in the IPL media rights auction. And, now, the media giant managed to hold the media rights for the ICC events as well.
K Madhavan, Country Manager & President, Disney Star said: “We are delighted at being able to continue our association with the International Cricket Council (ICC) and look forward to strengthening our partnership by growing the sport of cricket in the years ahead.
“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.”
Talking about the significance of the Indian market, Barclay said, “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.”
“This was an incredibly competitive process, which isn’t surprising given the huge audiences that cricket consistently attracts with more than a billion fans that passionately follow the game globally. I’d like to thank all of the bidders for their interest in and support of cricket.”
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