Channel 5 eyes free-to-air England cricket matches

Channel 5 is reportedly in advanced negotiations with Cricket Australia regarding broadcast rights for England's upcoming white-ball tour of Australia next month. The terrestrial broadcaster is considering securing live rights for one of the five T20 internationals, with the possibility of it being shown free-to-air. The opening T20 on November 21 is considered a prime candidate due to its UK morning start time, which could attract a significant audience.

Concurrently, TNT Sports is understood to be close to finalizing a deal for the live UK rights to the entire tour. This potential collaboration between Channel 5 and TNT Sports is noteworthy as both are owned by US media giant Paramount Skydance. Channel 5 already holds rights for some domestic T20 matches and has previously acquired highlights packages for events broadcast live on TNT Sports.

The England squad, led by Brendon McCullum, will travel to Australia following their current commitments in Pakistan. The tour schedule includes a warm-up game and three ODIs before the five-match T20 series commences. This development comes as the value of overseas cricket rights has seen a decline, leading to many winter tour broadcast deals being finalized closer to the events.