Facebook wins ICC digital deal for South Asia
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Rebecca Hawkes
| 26 September 2019

World cricket’s governing body has sealed an exclusive four-year digital rights agreement in the Indian subcontinent with social media giant Facebook.

Calling the tie-up “ground breaking”, the UAE-based International Cricket Council (ICC) said Facebook would deliver content such as match recaps and key moments from games.

The agreement runs until 2023 and includes the ICC’s suits of major events, such as the 2021 Women’s Cricket World Cup, the 2023 Men’s Cricket World Cup, the men’s and women’s T20 World Cups, the ICC World Test Championship Final and various men’s qualifying and age-grade events.

“Throughout the competitive bid process, we received tremendous interest from a range of platforms, all of whom recognise the phenomenal reach of cricket. In Facebook, we have a genuine partner who shares in our ambition to continue to grow and deepen engagement with cricket fans globally using its platforms,” said Manu Sawhney, CEO, ICC .

Ajit Mohan, Facebook India’s vice president and managing director, said: “We are excited to partner with the ICC to bring the most exciting moments in cricket to Facebook Watch and to chart the next stage of technology led transformation in cricket.

“With Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp, the ICC has an exceptional opportunity to leverage our family of apps to serve current sports fans as well as bring in an entirely new generation of fans.”