Image courtesy of: The Daily Mail
The deal will cover 53 countries
The England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) have confirmed that this year’s back-to-back Ashes series will be streamed live on YouTube for internet users in Europe and South America.
While the ECB uploads snippets of behind the scenes footage to their YouTube channel, this will be the first time that an actual Ashes series has been broadcast live.
Along with the actual match, a one-minute highlight reel will also be produced after every session.
“This is the ECB’s first venture into live streaming of cricket online, so is ground-breaking territory for us,” ECB chief executive, David Collier, said. “We receive numerous requests from cricket fans in regions where there is no broadcast TV offering, and therefore we are delighted that many will be able to enjoy this Investec Ashes Series.
“It is also important that we play a role in the expansion of the game to countries that do not traditionally play nor watch the sport.”
Steve Nuttall, who is YouTube’s Senior Director, said: “Our partnership with the ECB expands the reach of the Investec Ashes Series to new countries and to YouTube’s younger, connected audience. We’re delighted to see more top quality cricket on YouTube.”
The deal will cover 53 countries, including Europe, except Ireland, and all of South America other than Guyana and French Guiana.