Dazn has bought the UK rights for Australia’s Test series against Bangladesh this month in a landmark deal for the global streaming platform.
The two Test matches in Darwin and Mackay in Australia’s Top End will be the first time Dazn, whose main focus is football and combat sports, broadcasts international cricket in what could be a significant development for the market.
As reported by the Guardian, Cricket Australia had been seeking a long-term deal with broadcasters for their UK rights, but has opted to sell the Bangladesh series to Dazn as a one-off, with negotiations continuing regarding its other properties.
England’s white-ball team are touring Australia this autumn for eight ODI and T20 games, and the one-off 150th anniversary Test takes place in Melbourne next March, and while other broadcasters have expressed interest, Dazn’s willingness to take the Bangladesh Tests is likely to put it in a strong negotiating position.
Dazn’s only previous cricket coverage was a joint deal with Sky Sports to televise the 2023 Indian Premier League in the UK, but last year the company bought Australian satellite channel Foxtel, which holds Cricket Australia’s domestic rights until 2031.
Dazn’s UK broadcast of the Bangladesh series is expected to rely on coverage provided by the host broadcaster, Fox Sports.
Cricket Australia has struggled to attract competition for its UK rights in recent years as Sky Sports has moved away from showing England’s winter tours, although it does still have the rights for the Big Bash League.
England’s past three men’s Ashes tours have been televised by TNT Sports and its predecessor, BT Sport, but Dazn could now bid for the rights for the 2029-30 tour.
Australia has named an experienced squad for the Bangladesh series, with the captain Pat Cummins returning for the first time since last December’s third Ashes Test in Adelaide, they begin a mammoth run that will feature 21 Tests in less than 12 months if they reach next June’s World Test Championship final.
Following the Bangladesh series, which begins next Thursday, Australia tour South Africa for three Tests in October before a home four-Test series against New Zealand over Christmas. Cummins’s side then travel to India for five Tests next February before playing England in the one-off 150th anniversary Test in a gruelling run that culminates with next year’s Ashes series.
Cricket Australia was approached for comment.
