Pay-television broadcaster Sky New Zealand has renewed its rights agreement with New Zealand Cricket, the governing body for the sport in the country, for a further two years, for rights to all home internationals and domestic cricket.
The new deal, which expires in March 2014, covers the tours of England, India and the West Indies to New Zealand.
The agreement also includes a commitment from the broadcaster to show matches in primetime on Friday nights from the domestic HRV Cup, the Twenty20 competition.
New Zealand Cricket chief executive David White said: “New Zealand Cricket has enjoyed a strong relationship with Sky and we are thrilled to be extending our agreement. Sky’s commitment to cricket is highlighted by their offer to broadcast HRV Cup matches on Friday evenings, helping extend the reach of our highly entertaining Twenty20 competition. Part of New Zealand Cricket’s mission is to have more people playing and more people watching cricket. The partnership with Sky will play a key role in delivering on that vision.”
Richard Last, director of sports content at Sky Television New Zealand, said: “We are thrilled to further extend our partnership with New Zealand Cricket with whom we have developed a very strong relationship over a long period. We are especially excited about the introduction of Friday night HRV Cup matches where we will have the opportunity to provide even greater exposure for cricket in this country.”