Sky Sports will take over the live rights to broadcast the Indian Premier League for the first time in 2015 after securing a three-year deal.
Subscribers will be able to enjoy 60 live matches each year as Sky Sports adds the drama, colour and excitement of the IPL to its already vast live cricket portfolio.
The pay-TV sports broadcaster is understood to have fended off strong competition from BT Sport for the rights, as well as from present rights holders ITV, which will cover its last IPL in 2014.
Sky’s IPL deal strengthens its unrivalled schedule of year-round cricket which includes England home and away, plus coverage from Australia, India, South Africa, the West Indies and New Zealand.
The agreement ends ITV’s five-year association with the competition that stretches back to 2010, when the free-to-air broadcaster picked up the rights in a surprise move following the demise of Setanta Sports, who screened the first two IPL tournaments.
Launched in 2008, the IPL features many of the world’s best players in a two month competition contested across India, with matches drawing huge crowds that create electric atmospheres.
Last year’s tournament was won by Sachin Tendulkar’s team, the Mumbai Indians, with Tendulkar ending his six-year IPL career with his first Indian Premier League trophy win.
Whilst the new deal takes away the only live cricket available to watch for free on terrestrial television, Sky Sports subscribers will be able to enjoy the world’s top four domestic Twenty20 cricket competitions – the IPL, the ECB’s NatWest T20 Blast, Australia’s Big Bash League and South Africa’s Ram Slam T20 Challenge – all in one place.
Barney Francis, managing director of Sky Sports, said: “It’s the cricket competition that everyone is talking about and from next year, only on Sky Sports can viewers follow the IPL live.
“Sky Sports’ cricket coverage has never been stronger, offering something for everyone including all the major Test playing nations and all the best players. We can’t wait.
“Before then, our cricket continues with the best action including ICC World Twenty20 next month and England’s summer Tests against Sri Lanka and India.”
The agreement is the latest in a series of long-term rights announcements made by Sky Sports, strengthening its unrivalled portfolio of live sport across six channels.
Sky recently announced agreements for British & Irish Lions, Super League, WWE, Scottish Football, Cricket New Zealand, speedway and a seven-year deal for live PGA Tour golf.
The IPL deal reinforces Sky’s domination of televised cricket as it holds the rights to every major Test playing nation until 2016, which includes England at home and abroad, ICC events and long term deals for cricket from South Africa, Australia, West Indies, India and New Zealand.
Women’s international matches and the best of the English domestic season, plus a range of additional programming, also features across its portfolio.
The only long-term TV cricket deal that remains to be signed is the next set of ICC rights, which includes the Cricket World Cup, World T20 and Champions Trophy, with reports suggesting that Sky’s arch rivals BT Sport will put in a major challenge.
ITV4 will cover its final IPL tournament, the seventh edition overall, this April and May before Sky Sports takes over from 2015 onwards.
ITV Sport has provided fans with rare access to live free-to-air cricket for the past four years through its IPL coverage, with only international highlights of England’s home matches available via Channel 5.
When ITV4 covered its first IPL in 2010, it was the first live cricket broadcast on terrestrial television since Channel 4 broadcast the final Test of the memorable 2005 Ashes series at The Oval.
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