ITV had been strongly linked with a joint deal with DAZN for the cricket competition
DAZN and Sky Sports have tied up the rights to the 2023 IPL in the UK and Ireland.
All 74 matches will be available through the two providers, with the tournament beginning on 31 March. Sky Sports subscribers will be able to watch through its linear channels or Now, while DAZN will have it on its streaming platform as well as its recently launched channel available on Sky.
England trio Ben Stokes, Harry Brook, and Sam Curran will be taking part in the men’s competition this year, with the opening match between Hardik Pandya’s 2022 champions Gujarat Titans and Stokes’ Chennai Super Kings on Friday.
DAZN and ITV had been strongly linked with a joint deal to bring the IPL back to free-to-air, but ITV appears to have missed out. ITV showed the competition between 2010 and 2014, the last time it wasn’t behind a paywall in the UK.
Bryan Henderson, director of cricket & NFL at Sky Sports, said: “The IPL sees the best players from across the world face off in front of a fanatical local audience in search of glory – resulting in some of the most explosive cricket around.
“We’re excited to add even more live action to a busy cricketing summer that features both men’s and women’s Ashes series, The Vitality Blast and The Hundred, as well as a number of international series for both England’s men’s and women’s teams.”
DAZN Group CEO, Shay Segev said, “DAZN is committed to building the world’s ultimate destination for sports fans; this means investing in developing our platform alongside acquiring and delivering premium rights. The IPL is the world’s foremost T20 cricket competition, which features the biggest names in cricket battling it out over 74 matches, all of which are available live and exclusively to DAZN’s UK subscribers.
“With access to DAZN starting at less than nine pounds a month, and a whole host of quality content available, including not only IPL but the Joshua versus Franklin fight on 1 April, there’s never been a better time for UK sports fans to subscribe to DAZN.”
England star Brook added: “This year has been massive for me as a cricketer, and the opportunity to play for the Sunrisers in the IPL is another huge challenge that I am relishing. It’s great news that all 74 IPL matches are going to be live and on-demand on DAZN to UK-based fans of the competition. It’s going to be a huge tournament this year and I can’t wait to be playing and competing with some of the biggest names in world cricket. Make sure you subscribe to DAZN to follow all the action.”
Sky Sports is also airing the Women’s Premier League, which ends this weekend. The final is live on Sky Sports Cricket and Main Event from 3pm on Sunday.
Image: Quidich Innovation Labs
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