As part of a five-year deal, which is reported to cost £16m a year, BT Sport will broadcast all Australian Test matches, including the Ashes series, as well as one-day internationals and Twenty-20 fixtures played Down Under.
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The shake-up of Australian cricket has continued apace after the country’s cricketing board handed the rights to games down under, including the next Ashes series, to BT Sport.
The broadcast will be shown through the company’s BT Sport channels which are now in more than 5.2 million homes.
BT Sport are understood to have significantly outbid Sky to win the rights which will include England’s attempts to defend the Ashes urn in two winters’ time. BT Sport will show hundreds of live matches throughout the tournament using the very latest technology.
They recently won the rights to the Champions League and FA Cup from Sky and ITV and have long harboured an interest in cricket.
With the Ashes deal BT Sport are now looking to make an impact in cricket as well as football.
Commenting on the agreement, Delia Bushell, Managing Director of BT TV and BT Sport, said: “BT Sport is delighted to be adding Australian cricket to its line-up, and to be the new home of the next Ashes tour in Australia in 2017″.
At the moment they only have rights to the Caribbean Premier League but from the end of next year will be able to show all of Australia’s home global cricket.
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“With more cricket content now available via BT Sport, free-to-air television and through our digital platforms, we are making the game more accessible to more people”.
