{"id":259784,"date":"2026-08-27T07:00:08","date_gmt":"2026-08-27T07:00:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sports.runfyers.com\/index.php\/2026\/08\/27\/ecb-pushing-for-more-free-to-air-coverage-with-itv-open-to-showing-test-cricket\/"},"modified":"2026-08-27T07:00:08","modified_gmt":"2026-08-27T07:00:08","slug":"ecb-pushing-for-more-free-to-air-coverage-with-itv-open-to-showing-test-cricket","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sports.runfyers.com\/index.php\/2026\/08\/27\/ecb-pushing-for-more-free-to-air-coverage-with-itv-open-to-showing-test-cricket\/","title":{"rendered":"ECB pushing for more free-to-air coverage \u2013 with ITV open to showing Test cricket"},"content":{"rendered":"

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The England and Wales Cricket<\/a> Board is planning to offer more rights packages to free-to-air broadcasters in the next set of TV contracts beginning in 2029, with the aim of broadening the sport\u2019s appeal.<\/p>\n

While the ECB will not follow Cricket Australia by offering a bespoke free-to-air package for domestic Test matches, the Guardian has been told that long-term partner Sky Sports could share some of its cricket portfolio during the next rights cycle with ITV, whose \u00a31.6bn takeover by Sky\u2019s US parent company, Comcast<\/a>, is expected to be completed next year.<\/p>\n

In addition ITV is also understood to be interested in pursuing its own bid for rights to the Hundred, which the ECB<\/a> will facilitate by making more packages available on a non-exclusive basis.<\/p>\n

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As well as the Hundred the ECB will also offer FTA packages for a number of England\u2019s men\u2019s and women\u2019s white-ball matches.<\/p>\n

Although formal discussions with ITV have yet to take place as the Comcast takeover remains subject to regulatory approval, Sky has privately indicated a willingness to share some of its sports rights with its new partner for promotional purposes, with ITV open to broadcasting a Test match for the first time since 1968.<\/p>\n

The BBC showed Test cricket on TV from 1938 until 1998, when it lost the rights to Channel 4, which was then outbid by Sky Sports as Test cricket disappeared behind a paywall in 2006.<\/p>\n

Channel 4 bought the rights for England\u2019s Test tour of India at the last minute during the 2021 Covid-19 lockdown, but no home Test matches have been broadcast FTA since Channel 4 covered England\u2019s historic Ashes series victory in 2005.<\/p>\n

<\/svg><\/span>None of England\u2019s home Test matches have been broadcast on free-to-air television since Channel 4 covered the 2005 Ashes. <\/span> Photograph: Getty Images<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Sky\u2019s exclusive domestic rights package began the following year after a long period in which the subscription channel focused on covering England\u2019s winter tours, as well as International Cricket Council World Cup events, beginning with Graham Gooch\u2019s memorable trip to the West Indies in 1990.<\/p>\n

Sky is currently halfway through a four-year deal worth \u00a3220m a year which gives it the live rights for all England\u2019s men and women home matches, the Hundred, T20 Blast and some county cricket, and is expected to retain those rights for the next cycle from 2029 to 2033.<\/p>\n

The next rights cycle is particularly significant for the ECB as it will be the last contract in which England matches are sold together with the Hundred, as the new franchise owners will take charge of selling rights to the short-form competition as a standalone event from 2033.<\/p>\n

The proposed Comcast purchase of ITV has created a potential opportunity for more cricket to be made available on FTA television, although any decision by Sky to share content with their new partners would wait until the start of the next contract.<\/p>\n

Any cricket offered to ITV would also be shown live on Sky, which previously gave up its exclusive rights to England\u2019s victory in the men\u2019s 2019 World Cup final in a deal with Channel 4 as it deemed it to be an event of national significance.<\/p>\n

Sky and ITV are understood to be open to collaborating on other sports rights deals if the takeover receives regulatory approval, a process that is expected to take between 12 and 18 months.<\/p>\n

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