PCB ready to benefit from broadcast rights war in England

Sky Sports and BT Sport are trying to buy PCB's overseas rights for the England tour in the UAE

The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) is in line to benefit from a rift over media rights for the upcoming tour of England against Pakistan in the UAE between BT Sport and Sky Sports, reported The Telegraph.

The cash-strapped PCB can see this as a golden opportunity to drive up the price for its overseas rights to benefit as much as it can from the on-going conflict.

Sky Sports has reportedly said that they are close to agreeing a deal with the PCB but BT Sport are looking to cash in on the prospect that the deal hasn’t been signed yet.

Sky was dealt a major blow on Monday when it lost live coverage of the next Ashes series in 2017-18. Cricket Australia announced a five year deal with BT Sport, believed to be worth £80m, to show its international matches and Big Bash Twenty20 league in this country starting in 2017.

It is the first time Sky have lost the rights to a major England tour since 1990.

But Sky didn’t lose the at all fronts. They have managed everything else including tours to South Africa, West Indies, India and Sri Lanka over the next five years as well as International Cricket Council global events until 2023.

But BT sports can grab a potential foothold in cricket if they can bag the Pakistan series which is still available along with a Test series in Bangladesh in 2016.