BeIN to launch cricket channel after ECB rights deal

The best of English cricket will soon be broadcast across the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) following a deal signed yesterday by the England & Wales Cricket Board (ECB) and broadcaster beIN Media Group.
Under the six-year deal, beIN Media Group will screen premium cricket clashes including India's 2018 and 2022 tours to England, as well as the Ashes series in the UK in 2019.
Alongside the agreement, beIN Media Group has announced plans to introduce a dedicated beIN Sports cricket channel in the MENA region in 2018 and will broadcast the game in more than 24 countries in the Mena region.
The channel will screen the broadcaster's portfolio of premium international and domestic cricket, including ECB and Cricket Australia content, as well as original programming, documentaries and magazine show.
BeIN Media Group Deputy CEO, Yousef Al Obaidly said the deal would bring more of the world's best cricket to fans across the Middle East and north Africa. 'We are thrilled to partner with the ECB at such an exciting time for English cricket, building on a similar agreement signed this month with Cricket Australia, he said.
Earlier this month beIN signed a similar deal with Cricket Australia, starting with the upcoming Ashes series.
'Together, these acquisitions and the upcoming launch of our dedicated cricket channel will deliver high-quality, in-depth cricket coverage to the rapidly growing audience in the MENA region.
'We're very pleased to welcome beIN Media Group to our broader family of broadcast partners and excited by their plans to create their own dedicated cricket channel for the first time, said ECB chief executive Tom Harrison.
'Our international and domestic teams are attracting an ever-expanding global audience and this new partnership will give even more cricket fans worldwide an opportunity to follow all the action and excitement from our game.

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