ICC signs eight-year rights deal with Star

The ICC has jointly awarded audio-visual rights for its events to Star India and Star Middle East, wholly owned subsidiaries of 21st Century Fox Inc., for the period between 2015 and 2023. While the value of the bid was not disclosed the ICC said "it is significantly in excess of the ICC's previous commercial deals."

While the financial details were not officially revealed, the rights package was at the centre of the ICC's revenue distribution model pushed through earlier this year by the BCCI, Cricket Australia and the ECB, who now control ICC's finances and executive powers. The projected revenue distribution figures of the 2015-2023 rights package distributed among the full members ranged between $1.1 billion and $3.5billion. In 2006, it was reported that the ICC rights for 2007-2015 were sold to ESPN-Star for $1.1 billion.

The upcoming eight-year period contains 18 ICC tournaments, which include two World Cups in 2019 and 2023, two Champions Trophies in 2017 and 2021, and two World Twenty20s in 2016 and 2020. The deal does not include host broadcast production rights, which the ICC said it has "decided to reserve along with a host of other rights."

"The decision followed a robust tender, bidding and evaluation process, which started in July 2014," the ICC said. "During the process, which involved two rounds of bidding, the ICC received 17 competitive bids from various broadcasters across different territories for its audio-visual rights."

Commenting on the decision ICC Chairman N Srinivasan said: "This commitment for the next eight years will ensure greater stability for ICC Members as well as increased funding for developing and established countries. Emerging nations will have access to the largest funding resource in the history of the game and the Board has fully endorsed this framework as the best means of safeguarding the future of the sport."