Cricket is to make a return to Channel 5 after the Paramount-owned broadcaster signed a new four-year deal with the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) to bring four live international T20 cricket fixtures to free-to-air TV annually.
The deal is for two international England Men’s fixtures and two international England Women’s fixtures across the Spring and Summer months. The matches will be simulcast with Sky Sports, which holds the pay-TV rights.
5 will also stream highlights from county cricket’s T20 Vitality Blast competition across the season.
Ben Frow, Chief Content Officer at 5, said, “We are thrilled to partner with the ECB to bring live T20 cricket to free-to-air TV. This collaboration brings a summer of live T20 cricket to our audience across the UK and adds to our growing sports offering.”
Tony Singh, ECB Chief Commercial Officer, said he was delighted to have 5 back as a free-to-air broadcaster. “We’re delighted that this partnership also means that for the first time, viewers will be able to watch regular broadcast highlights of county cricket’s T20 Vitality Blast through 5’s streaming service.”
The first IT20 internationals to be aired will be England Women vs. West Indies Women on 26 May, followed by England Men vs. West Indies Men on 8 June. England Women vs. India Women will be aired on 28 June and finally, England Men vs. South Africa Men on 14 September.
The channel previously broadcast the England cricket team’s highlights every summer from 2006 to 2019 and was the terrestrial home of the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup in 2023.
More recently, selected England T20 matches were made available on the BBC.
