England and Wales Cricket Board chief executive Tom Harrison has said the organisation is in talks with free-to-air broadcasters over a rights deal for its proposed new domestic Twenty20 tournament, adding that fellow national governing bodies are considering the prospect of a unified internet subscription service.
The mooted new eight-team T20 competition is set to be further discussed at a meeting on March 27. The ECB in September voted to proceed with the proposal following discussions with the 18 first-class county cricket clubs, the Professional Cricketers’ Association and the Marylebone Cricket Club.
The ECB hopes that the tournament, which will take place at city-based Test grounds, will sit alongside the existing 18-team T20 Blast competition.
The new T20 competition is set to be a key factor in the talks with broadcasters for a new deal to run from 2020. In January 2015, pay-television broadcaster Sky agreed a two-year extension, from 2018 to 2019, to its partnership with the ECB, covering exclusive live rights to England’s home fixtures, county matches, women's and age-grade cricket.
Harrison told UK newspaper the Financial Times that he wants some games in the new league to be screened live on free-to-air broadcasters such as the BBC, even if this means forsaking money from pay-television broadcasters such as Sky and BT Sport.
“We have no ambition to be the richest, most irrelevant sport in this country,” Harrison said, adding: “Have we been having conversations with free-to-air (channels for the new T20 tournament)? Absolutely. Am I convinced they will be at the table? Yes.”
Meanwhile, Harrison said global cricket bodies are taking inspiration from MLB Advanced Media, the interactive media and internet arm of the North American baseball league, in discussing future options for cricket rights.
The Financial Times said pooling of rights to sell as packages to international broadcasters and the establishment of an internet subscription service are being discussed.
“Imagine the strategic flexibility that you get,” Harrison added. “You can watch every ball of New Zealand cricket wherever they’re playing, or every ball of English cricket. There’s a moment where there’s a leap of faith, and I think we’re very close to that.”