England’s attempt to regain the Ashes this winter will be broadcast live in the UK by TNT Sports. After agreeing a one-year deal with Cricket Australia over the weekend TNT now has the rights for all of England’s winter tours, as the broadcaster had deals in place to cover white-ball series in New Zealand and Sri Lanka either side of the Ashes.
TNT’s predecessor, BT Sport, bought the rights for the past two Ashes tours so the new deal may be inauspicious for Ben Stokes’s side as their viewers have not seen England win a single game. England have lost 13 of the past 15 Tests they have played in Australia, which shows the size of the task for the touring side this winter.
TNT has increasingly become the home of England’s winter cricket deals in recent years and has long-term rights in place with New Zealand, West Indies and Pakistan, as well as securing a late deal to cover England’s five-Test series in India last winter.
Unlike that tour, in which the former England players Alastair Cook and Steven Finn provided commentary from a studio in the Netherlands, TNT is planning to send a team to Australia, although will also use coverage from the host broadcaster.
TNT’s dominance follows a decision from Sky Sports to pull back from winter tours due to cost-cutting and its focus on covering Premier League football – it will broadcast 215 matches live this season.
Sky still has the rights to International Cricket Council events, such as the men’s and women’s World Cup and T20 World Cup, but its only contract for bilateral series is with Cricket South Africa.
TNT’s new Cricket Australia deal also includes men’s white-ball series against South Africa and India, and a multiformat women’s series against India.
Todd Greenberg, the Cricket Australia chief executive, said: “We’re pleased to extend our longstanding partnership with TNT Sports and that they will again be instrumental in showcasing the Australian summer of cricket to UK audiences.”
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England will be hoping to win the Ashes for the first time since Cook’s side defeated Australia 3-2 at home in 2015. The tourists have not won a Test in Australia since Andrew Strauss’s side triumphed in Sydney in January 2011, which sealed a 3-1 series win, their first down under since 1987.
