T20 World Cup LIVE – WC Live in UAE: Imagine a T20 World Cup Cricket without a broadcast partner in a country where it is being played. With only 10 days to start, a major embarrassment for the International Cricket Council has been averted. Finally ICC & Star Sports has agreed a broadcast deal for the MENA (Middle East & North Africa) region. Pay-television operator OSN previously held rights to ICC events in the region until the end of 2023 – but the platform was shut down in 2019.
Since than Star Sports has been attempting to weave a new partnership and finally a deal was agreed with UAE based telco Etisalat. This means now the fans in UAE & Oman along with other Middle Eastern & North African countries will be able to watch the matches LIVE in the region.
T20 World Cup LIVE Broadcast: ICC & Star Sports finally gets broadcast partner for World Cup in host countries UAE & Oman
T20 World Cup LIVE – WC Live in UAE: Etisalat has partnered with subscription video-on-demand service StarzPlay to ensure wider availability throughout Mena.The deal is a sublicensing agreement between the Star TV Network and Etisalat. Star holds global ICC media rights in a deal worth $2.1bn over eight years, from 2015-16 to 2022-23.
Khaled Elkhouly, chief consumer officer at Etisalat, said: “eLife customers have access to an unprecedented line-up to watch live sport from the best providers across the region.”
Danny Bates, chief commercial officer at StarzPlay, said: “This is prestigious win for us, and we thank our long-standing associates, Etisalat as well as the Star TV Network, for their support. With cricket widely followed in the region, we are bridging a gap for our subscribers, who can now effortlessly watch all the live cricket action from this exciting T20 championship. Our aim is to become the ultimate TV entertainment destination and we will continue to explore new and innovative ways to offer the best sporting experience for our subscribers.”
Harry Griffith, head of syndication at Star, said: “This is a ground-breaking collaboration which will provide the largest ever reach for an ICC event in the region. We are delighted to associate with Etisalat and StarzPlay to enhance the coverage of the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup across the Middle East. With the event being staged in the UAE and Oman it is crucial the tournament is more accessible than ever before. This is a truly exciting juncture for all cricket fans in the Middle East.”
T20 World Cup LIVE Broadcast – How fans in UAE & Oman can watch the T2O World CUP LIVE?
Viewers in the UAE will be able to watch the tournament live on the CricLife Max channel, which is available via Etisalat’s eLife TV bundle or through its OTT service Switch TV. Fans in the UAE can also watch the tournament via the StarzPlay app.
Fans in the rest of the Mena region can watch the T20 World Cup through StarzPlay, which will also stream Etisalat’s CricLife and CricLife2 channels.
CricLife Max will show all matches from the tournament, along with highlights and other coverage. Full match replays will be shown on other CricLife channels. StarzPlay has launched two packages for fans to watch the tournament. A daily pass is available for AED9.99 ($2.72/€2.34), while a tournament pass is priced at AED99.99.
Switch TV’s packages for viewers in the UAE are a daily pass for AED 4.99 ($1.36/€1.17) and a tournament pass for AED 99.99. ELife TV is offering a tournament pass for AED249.
This year’s T20 World Cup, comprising 45 matches, will take place from October 17 to November 14 in the UAE and Oman.
