Last week, BT Sport secured the rights to every match of the Indian Premier League (IPL) Twenty20 Cricket Tournament, starting with last weekend’s opener and continuing throughout the campaign.

Originally, it was Sky Sports who had a contract with the league’s global rights holder, Star India, but the deal fell through, allowing BT to ink a last minute deal. It will now broadcast the entire tournament in the UK.

BT Sport is the home of the IPL ????

The biggest names in cricket head to India ???? pic.twitter.com/ix0v87Qyl9

— BT Sport (@btsport) March 22, 2019

BT Sport wasn’t in Star India’s original plans, however, as the Indian broadcaster had informed that the UK market would be exploited through Star Hotstar OTT streaming service, as well as Star Gold TV channel, which is available to Sky and Virgin Media’s customers, but BT Sport was able to sign this year’s edition of the tournament.

Managing director of content and strategy at BT, Andy Haworth, was quoted by The Cricketer as saying, “The Vivo IPL is one of the most exciting cricket competitions in the world right now and offers something for all of our customers. With some of cricket’s biggest names lighting up the league every day, BT Sport will bring you all of the action and excitement.”

The tournament began on March 23rd when the defending champions, Chennai Super Kings beat the Royal Challengers of Bangalore, and will look to bring in another exciting season to BT Sport’s viewers.

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