All 34 matches of this year’s Caribbean Premier League (CPL) will be broadcast live on Facebook around the world, via the social network’s official live streaming partner Grabyo.

The CPL will become the first sports league to supplement its existing broadcast deals and use the Facebook Live platform to ensure that 40 countries around the world, including the likes of Pakistan, South Africa and The Philippines can now view “the biggest party in sport” live. CPL COO Pete Russell said Facebook Live has the potential “to change the face of cricket broadcasting and enhance the CPL’s ever-increasing international audience.”

“In 2015 the CPL’s global viewership exceeded 93 million and we now have the platform to boost our viewership even further for the forthcoming tournament. Caroline Smith, CPL’s Head of Digital, and her team have done a fantastic job with our social media activity and this deal proves that they have put us ahead of the curve in understanding how best to reach our global fans with live games.”

“The CPL will make television history and in doing so extend our reach to both traditional and non-traditional cricket followers across the world. We are hugely excited about this development and look forward to engaging more followers internationally. I want to thank Grabyo and CPL’s production partner, IMG for their combined efforts, hard work and creativity in making this broadcasting first a reality.”

A host of international stars will be competing at this year’s CPL including the likes of Chris Gayle, AB de Villiers and Brendon McCullum

Gareth Capon, CEO of Grabyo said, “On the pitch, T20 cricket is helping to globalize and expand the sport of cricket, bringing a new generation of fans into the game. The use of social video, particularly live streaming, presents an opportunity to reach an unparalleled audience far beyond the traditional broadcast ecosystem.

“Facebook offers an user base of 1.6 billion and to be able to bring live action from the best cricketing talent direct to mobile devices around the world, right as the action happens, is incredibly exciting. We look forward to working with the CPL throughout the tournament and helping them use social video to engage new audiences across the globe.”