Sky Sports has regained the rights to broadcast live coverage of the VIVO Indian Premier League in the UK after announcing a three-year deal to show one of the world’s top T20 cricket tournaments.
Subscribers will be able to watch all 60 matches from the 2020 competition exclusively live on Sky Sports, starting on Sunday, 29 March, with reigning champions Mumbai Indians hosting Chennai Super Kings at the Wankhede Stadium.
The tournament sees the greatest players in the world join forces with local favourites including Virat Kohli, Jasprit Bumrah and Rohit Sharma, plus a total of 12 English players will be involved, including World Cup heroes Ben Stokes, Eoin Morgan and Jos Buttler.
IPL cricket returns to Sky Sports screens this year after the broadcaster was unable to reach a deal for the 2019 tournament with Star Sports, the IPL’s global rights holders.
This paved the way for rival BT Sport to secure non-exclusive live rights, while Star India chose to broadcast every match in the UK on Star Gold and online via its Hotstar streaming service.
BT were reportedly interested in holding onto the rights, however Sky, which first covered the IPL in 2015, has regained its exclusive rights deal.
The IPL will form part of a bumper schedule of live cricket on Sky Sports throughout 2020, which includes all of England’s home Tests, one-day internationals and T20 internationals matches, the new 100-ball competition – The Hundred – plus the T20 Blast and ICC events, including the Men’s and Women’s T20 World Cups in Australia.
Commenting on the return of the IPL, Rob Webster, Sky Sports’ managing director, said:
“The VIVO IPL is a truly spectacular competition and one that grips you from start to finish. The tournament features the world’s best T20 players, all playing in-front of thousands of passionate fans across the India.
“Sky Sports’ cricket coverage – still trying to catch its breath from a stunning 2019 – goes from strength to strength for the year ahead. We’re thrilled to add the VIVO IPL to an already busy cricketing calendar for 2020 joining events such as the ICC Men’s and Women’s T20 World Cup’s from Australia.
“England’s international summer will feature visits from Australia, Pakistan, West Indies and Ireland, as well as domestic cricket which will be headlined by The Hundred.”
Mumbai Indians won the 2019 tournament with a dramatic one-run win over Chennai Super Kings in Hyderabad, claiming their fourth title in the process.
Watch live coverage of the 2020 Indian Premier League only on Sky Sports from 29 March. For more information about the tournament, visit the official website – iplt20.com.
For a full list of all forthcoming major cricket matches on the box, visit SOTB’s dedicated cricket TV listings page.
https://twitter.com/SkyCricket/status/1227895805157289984
