Bids in the tender for the next cycle of the International Cricket Council’s rights in Australia, from 2012 to 2015, must be submitted by this Friday, March 9, according to Asian pay-television broadcaster ESPN Star Sports, the governing body’s global broadcast and marketing partner.
ESPN Star Sports launched the tender on January 31.
The rights in Australia are currently held by pay-television broadcaster Fox Sports and commercial broadcaster Channel Nine.
The rights cover all ICC events, including the 2012 Under-19 Cricket World Cup and the 2015 Cricket World Cup, which will both take place in Australia. They also include the World Twenty20 in Sri Lanka later this year, the Women’s World Cup in India and the Champions Trophy in England next year, and the World Twenty20 in Bangladesh and Under-19 Cricket World Cup in the United Arab Emirates in 2014.
“So far, we’ve been very pleased with the strong interest that various parties have shown in response to the rights sale process, which we hope to conclude shortly,” ESPN Star Sports’ senior vice-president of corporate development and cricket rights, Anurag Dahiya, said.
“Australia, as a top cricketing nation, continues to be a priority for us,” Dahiya added. “We have a history of very significant long-term broadcast partnerships for the ICC events in Australia, and now we look forward to further strengthening these top cricket events in this exciting market.”