BT Sport have come in at the eleventh hour to announce that they will show every match of the 2019 Indian Premier League.
T20 cricket’s premier tournament was set to be broadcast on Star Gold and its digital platform Hotstar in the UK, but BT Sport have reached an agreement with host broadcasters Star India to show the entirety of the tournament.
BT Sport and Star Gold will both broadcast every IPL match live to its UK audiences, beginning on Saturday 23 March, with the curtain raiser between Chennai Super Kings and Royal Challengers Bangalore.
Previous UK rights holder Sky Sports lost the rights to the tournament, which it had televised since 2015, despite announcing in 2018 that it had signed a ‘multi-year’ deal to show live matches.
However their contract contained an option for the IPL’s host broadcaster Star Sports to regain the rights after a year and show the matches on one of its own UK channels, as well as sell on non-exclusive rights to other broadcasters.
In a statement to its customers on social media, Sky said:
“It has been confirmed that Star India will exploit the rights themselves this year so Sky will not be covering the IPL cricket in 2019.
“We negotiated 60 matches last year, in what was to be a multi-year deal, although nowhere did it say multiple consecutive years. This year, Star India have chosen to retain full coverage.”
The Indian Premier League continues to attract the sport’s biggest names with the likes of Virat Kohli, Chris Gayle and MS Dhoni all on show in the most electrifying tournament on the planet.
BT Sport subscribers will now be able to follow some of England’s leading stars who will be in action, including Ben Stokes, Moeen Ali, Sam Curran and Jos Buttler.
Commenting on the arrival of IPL cricket to BT Sport, Andy Haworth, managing director of strategy and content for BT Consumer, said:
“The VIVO IPL is one of the most exciting cricket competitions in the world right now and offers something for all of our customers.
“With some of cricket’s biggest names lighting up the league every day, BT Sport will bring you all of the action and excitement.”
The IPL starts Saturday, 23 March, with defending champions Chennai Super Kings taking on Royal Challengers Bangalore, live on BT Sport and Star Gold.
For more information about the Indian Premier League, visit the official website – iplt20.com.
https://twitter.com/btsportcricket/status/1109123149902348288
