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LONDON (Alliance News) - BT Group PLC Monday said its BT Sport service will air the 2017/18 Australia vs England Ashes, and will also show all Australian home cricket international exclusive in the UK from 2016 to 2021 after it secured a five-year rights deal.
"BT Sport is delighted to be adding international cricket to its line-up, and to be the new home of the next Ashes tour in Australia. We will show live domestic games featuring the best players in the world during the Big Bash League and all Australian home matches for the next five years," said Managing Director of BT TV and BT Sport Delia Bushell in a statement.
BT did not provide any financial details of the deal.
"BT Sport put forward a highly compelling bid for the rights to broadcast cricket from Australia to audiences throughout the United Kingdom," said Cricket Australia Executive General Manager of Media, Communications & Marketing Ben Amarfio in a statement.
The deal will be seen as a further escalation of the company's rivalry with Sky PLC, who currently has an exclusive deal with the England and Wales Cricket Board for all international and domestic matches in the UK until the end of 2019. As a result of that deal, Sky will have the rights to show the 2019 Ashes.
Although Sky has traditionally held a dominant position in sports broadcasting, it has faced new competition from BT Sport, with BT snapping up the rights for the Champions League and Europa League, and securing a package of Premier League matches for the 2016-19 seasons, which also drove up the costs of the Premier League broadcasting rights for Sky.
Shares in BT were down 2.7% at 423.95 pence Monday morning, whilst Sky was down 1.7% at 1,023.00 pence.
By Hana Stewart-Smith; hanassmith@alliancenews.com; @HanaSSAllNews
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