The International Cricket Council, the sport’s global governing body, has received 17 bids from various broadcasters across different territories for the media rights to its major events for the next eight year cycle spanning 2015 to 2023.
Following its invitation to tender issued in July, the ICC said it is “pleased” with the response, adding that all bids are now being reviewed for compliance with the terms and conditions of the tender arrangements.
Broadcasters and media companies were invited to bid for rights packages either globally or on a territory-by-territory basis. The ICC had set a deadline of August 1 for expressions of interest.
The ICC earned $1.1bn (€797m) for its global media rights in the current eight-year period from 2007 to 2015 in a deal with pan-Asian broadcaster ESPN Star Sports.
The next eight year cycle features two editions apiece of the organisation’s flagship World Cup, World Twenty20 and Champions Trophy tournaments, along with qualifying events for the former two events.
India, the sport’s most lucrative market, will host the 2016 World T20, 2021 Champions Trophy and 2023 World Cup. England takes the Champions Trophy and World Cup in 2017 and 2019 respectively before the 2020 World T20 heads to Australia, offering further valuable representation of cricket’s core markets.
Two editions of the Women’s World Cup and Women’s World T20 are also included alongside four Under-19 World Cups.