BT beats Sky to 2017-18 Ashes rights

As part of a five-year deal with Cricket Australia, the network will show all of Australia's Test matches, one-day internationals and Twenty20 internationals.

England won the home Ashes series 3-2 this summer and will travel to Australia in 2017-18.

With Sky holding the rights to the 2019 series, it means that fans in the UK will need to have both Sky Sports and BT Sport to watch the 2017-18 and 2019 series.

Delia Bushell, Managing Director of BT TV and BT Sport, said: “BT Sport is delighted to be adding international cricket to its line-up, and to be the new home of the next Ashes tour in Australia.

“We will show live domestic games featuring the best players in the world during the Big Bash League and all Australian home matches for the next five years.”

By the time of the next Ashes tour it will be the first overseas trip by England shown live by another network apart from Sky for 27 years.

Cricket Australia Executive General Manager of Media, Communications & Marketing Ben Amarfio said: “BT Sport put forward a highly compelling bid for the rights to broadcast cricket from Australia to audiences throughout the United Kingdom. They are uniquely placed to become one of the UK’s largest sports channels and we think cricket can provide the content and opportunities to help them do just that.

“With more cricket content now available via BT Sport, free-to-air television and through our digital platforms, we are making the game more accessible to more people. The principle of taking the game to more people is very important in our efforts to grow the game.”

The England and Wales Cricket Board’s agreement with Sky ends in 2019 so the next deal will be the most lucrative in its history, especially with the added competition in the market.