LAHORE: The Paki­stan Television (PTV) Corporation on Tuesday acquired the non-exclusive rights in Pakistan for six men’s and women’s ICC events to be held in 2024 to 2025.

Interestingly, the PTV did not show any interest to buy the livestreaming or broadcasting rights of the HBL Pakistan Super League 2024 and 2025 from A Sports TV channel recently. The PSL is the country’s flagship Twenty20 event.

“The Pakistan Telev­ision Corporation (PTVC) and Tower Sports [wholly owned subsidiary of Hum Network Limited] have secured non-exclusive rights in Pakistan,” a press release issued by the ICC stated on Tuesday.

“The International Cricket Council (ICC) on Tuesday announced that ICC cricket rights up until the end of 2025 have been awarded to the PTVC and Tower Sports [landing rights licence holder of Ten Sports Pakistan] in Pakistan.

“The PTVC and Tower Sports have secured non-exclusive rights for six men’s and women’s ICC World events up until the end of 2025. Both parties, alongside TV rights, will also have digital rights as part of the package which fans across Pakistan will be able to enjoy,” the ICC statement added.

“The events covered in both [the] deals include the Men’s T20 World Cup 2024, Women’s T20 World Cup 2024, U-19 Women’s T20 World Cup 2025, Men’s Champions Trophy 2025, World Test Championship Final 2025 and Women’s World Cup 2025,” the statement further said.

Commenting on the development, ICC chief Executive Geoff Allardice said that Pakistan is a major market and host for global cricket.

“We are delighted to welcome the PTVC and Tower Sports into our portfolio of broadcast partners for the next two years. Pakistan is a very important market for world cricket with a large and passionate fan base and we are thrilled to be able to take ICC events to more people in the country,” he said.

PTV managing director Sayyed Mubashar Tauqir Shah expressed his delight at the development.

“Securing [the] rights to ICC world events for another two years represents a significant milestone for PTVC. We are thrilled to bring ICC World Cups to the homes of millions of fans across Pakistan.

This underpins our unwavering commitment to delivering premium sports content and engaging with cricket fans across the country,” Mubashar said.

CEO Hum Network Duraid Qureshi said: “Tower Sports is proud to announce its latest triumph in securing the rights to broadcast world cricket, reaffirming our commitment to deliver unparalleled sports entertainment to fans in Pakistan. With this exciting development, we can’t wait to bring the thrill and excitement of ICC World Cups directly to the screens of fans across Pakistan.”

Published in Dawn, March 27th, 2024