After bagging the exclusive live streaming rights to the International Cricket Council yesterday, Star India has now acquired the global media rights for Asia Cup from 2016 to 2023, reports TelevisionPost. The events include Asia Cup, Women’s Asia Cup, Emerging Asia Cup and U19 Asia Cup, and Star’s cricket rights include ICC, BCCI, Cricket Australia, and the England Cricket Board. The Asian Cricket Council (ACC) expects increased promotion and marketing of ACC events globally. The report quoted ACC president Sidath Weetimuny as saying that, “The value offered by Star India is significantly higher than any of ACC’s previous commercial contracts and it will provide much needed funds for the development of games in Asia.” The media rights package will include TV, audio, internet and mobile rights for all territories globally. Star India also secured the digital rights for the Indian Premier League (IPL), the T20 tournament organized by the Board for Control of Cricket in India (BCCI), for the years 2015, 2016 and 2017. In 2014, Star had acquired the TV and sponsorship rights of the Asia Cup 2014 held in Bangladesh, after ACC terminated its agreement with Nimbus Sports, which had acquired the media and sponsorship rights of the tournament for $50 million for 2011-2014. Nimbus had sub-licensed the rights for the Asia Cup 2014 to Neo Sports, its subsidiary arm in India. The Asia Cup 2016 will be held in Bangladesh and be played in the T20 format for the first time, considering the ICC’s Twenty20 World Cup.…
