BT Sport is set to show cricket’s Indian Premier League after Sky Sports opted not to broadcast the 2019 edition of the Twenty20 tournament.
Global IPL rights-holder Star India previously struck a multi-year agreement with Sky for UK rights to the tournament, with sources telling SportsBusiness Media the deal would run until the 2022 tournament. Star India acquired global rights to the IPL in September 2017 in a five-year deal, from 2018 to 2022.
On Tuesday, Sky confirmed it will not broadcast this year’s edition, which is due to start on March 23, paving the way for BT Sports to pick up the broadcast.
Announcing the non-exclusive deal on Twitter, BT Sport said it will show every game of the T20 tournament.
Star India had previously said it will exploit this year’s IPL rights in the UK through its own Hotstar OTT platform.
SportBusiness Media has contacted Star India to ask whether it still plans to broadcast the IPL through its own service. But there was no response at time of writing.