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The International Cricket Council (ICC) will tomorrow start a series of meetings with broadcasters and agencies in Dubai, in the latest stage of its sale of media and sponsorship rights for ICC events from late 2007 to 2015.
ICC Chief Executive Officer Malcolm Speed emphasised the imprtance of the meetings: "The sale of the ICC's commercial and broadcast rights makes this a hugely significant and exciting time for cricket. That sale gives us the opportunity to place cricket on a sound financial footing for the next eight years and, by doing that, it will provide all our members with the chance to both sustain and grow the game.
"We have been gratified and encouraged by the expressions of interest we have received among broadcasters and agencies", he added, "and are now looking forward to starting our meetings with potential partners on Tuesday. Throughout this whole process we have only one aim in mind - securing the best deal for cricket".
Included in the eight-year period under discussion are eighteen ICC tournaments with two ICC Cricket World Cups, in Asia (2011) and Australasia (2015), and a minimum of three ICC Champions Trophy tournaments.
Also included are the first two ICC Twenty20 World Championships, in South Africa (2007) and England (2009), the latter taking place in the ICC's centenary year. In addition there are Cricket World Cup qualifiers, four ICC U/19 Cricket World Cups, and, for the first time, the Women's Cricket World Cup, with two tournaments scheduled for 2009 (Australia) and 2013 (India) in the eight-year timeframe.
E&OE
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