England’s upcoming tour of India could be shown on Disney+ after almost all the major UK broadcasters distanced themselves from bidding for the marquee Test series.
Star Sports, who hold the rights to international cricket in India, are yet to find a buyer for the five-match series in the UK with just over a fortnight before the first Test starts in Hyderabad.
That has led to fears there could be a UK broadcast blackout for the highly-anticipated showdown between India and England’s Bazballers, who are riding high after last summer’s enthralling drawn home Ashes series against Australia.
Rights for international cricket in India are usually sold at the last minute and in a piecemeal fashion. The early start times of the matches – 4am in the UK – has also put off potential bidders.
The price for the rights, initially set at what UK broadcasters deemed to be at an exorbitant level, will drop the closer the series gets.
Yet there is no guarantee any bids from major broadcasters will be forthcoming. So far, only the radio rights have been sold to talkSPORT.
The last England Test not to be shown on TV in the UK came in the late 1980s, before Sky Sports started regularly broadcasting the sport in 1990.
Sky, though, have stepped away from showing overseas England Tests in recent years, with the last two Ashes series in Australia broadcast in the UK on BT Sport, now rebranded as TNT Sports.
And i understands Sky, who hold the rights to international cricket in England until 2028 and for International Cricket Council (ICC) tournaments until 2031, have little appetite in bidding for the upcoming series.
Channel 4 stepped in late in the day to show the last series between the teams in India three years ago, paying around £7m in a deal that was only agreed three days before the start of the first Test.
However, i has been told they will not enter the market for the upcoming series, with their focus this year on the Paralympics.
Hopes of the BBC, who have not shown Test cricket since 1999, stepping in also appear remote. Officially, a BBC spokesperson told i: “We do not comment on sports rights.” Unofficially, i was told by one source it is “highly doubtful” they will bid.
Of the major broadcasters, TNT Sports remain the frontrunners to land a last-minute deal. TNT agreed a late deal to show the England’s women’s tour of India last December, although that agreement was with the Board of Control for Cricket in India and not Star Sports, who do not have the rights for women’s international cricket in India.
One source told i that TNT Sports were “highly unlikely” to be showing the series, although they also admitted nothing could be ruled out. It is likely they could still be tempted to make a bid if the rights are sold at a knockdown price.
Yet i understands one option Star Sports are considering is keeping the rights in house and broadcasting the series on Disney+. The Walt Disney Company own Star Sports and so would not have to pay anything to show the Tests on their primary UK streaming platform, which has more than seven million subscribers and costs £4.99 a month to sign up to with ads or £7.99 a month without.
Disney already have a significant presence in cricket, owning ESPN Cricinfo, one of the biggest cricket websites in the world, as well as Star Sports. Disney were also close to showing the 2021 India vs England series before Channel 4 stepped in.
The move, though, is likely to only materialise at the last minute, after all avenues with other potential broadcasters are exhausted.
