The England and Wales Cricket Board has engaged law firm CMS to advise on its forthcoming media rights sale for all competitions for the period 2020-2024.
The ECB said an Invitation to Tender for the rights will be issued shortly and it is anticipated that the process will conclude this summer.
The ECB is reportedly seeking a threefold increase in the value of its domestic broadcast rights through the launch of its new Twenty20 competition.
UK newspaper The Telegraph in March said the start of the tender process will see the ECB seek between £230m (€272.3m/$297.2m) and £250m per year for its rights for five years from 2020 to 2024, compared to the £75m it currently receives annually from pay-television broadcaster Sky for exclusive coverage of all live cricket in England.
In January 2015, Sky agreed a two-year extension, from 2018 to 2019, to its partnership with the ECB, covering exclusive live rights to England’s home fixtures, county matches, women's and age-grade cricket.
Key to the tender process is the new T20 tournament. The ECB is pressing on with the development of a competition to rival the likes of the Indian Premier League and Australia’s Big Bash League after a change to the governing body’s statutes was overwhelmingly approved by its members last month.
Key elements of the new competition include eight new teams playing 36 games over a 38-day summer window with four home games per team. The ECB is pledging that all games will be televised with “significant” free-to-air exposure, with a reported target of eight games to be broadcast in this manner.
Tom Harrison, chief executive of the ECB, said of CMS’s role within the media rights process: “It’s critical that the process is right, meets the highest standards of integrity and helps the whole game to get the best outcome. The experience and expertise of CMS will support us in this.”