Strengthening its cricket portfolio, Star India has acquired the media rights of Cricket South Africa (CSA) till the end of the 2023/24 cricket season, across Asia, Middle East and North Africa. The agreement grants Star India exclusive rights across linear and digital mediums including all India tours to South Africa in this period. The association will commence with England’s tour to South Africa starting November 27, 2020, which is the return of cricket on Star Sports Network after IPL.
Star India already has the global rights for ICC, BCCI cricket, Indian Premier League apart from other cricket rights. Star India has made significant investments over the years to deepen the relationship that fans have with the game via enhanced story-telling, innovations in broadcast and regionalization. The broadcast of Dream11 IPL was an unprecedented collective endeavor built on the same principles. England tour of South Africa on 27 November 2020 during which the three T20Is will be broadcast in Hindi for the very first time. This will give these matches significant reach in the Hindi-speaking markets.
The agreement will cover all international cricket matches played by the South African men’s cricket team. As per Future Tours Plan, South Africa will be playing 59 matches at home including series against top teams such as India, England and Australia. With the Indian cricket team scheduled to tour South Africa thrice in this period, this deal comprises of 20 South Africa vs India bilateral matches across formats, with the first of these tours commencing in 2021/22 and comprising of three Tests and three T20Is. The agreement will also cover women’s international cricket matches played by the Momentum Proteas as well as CSA’s domestic men’s franchise matches.
