DUBAI: Leading UAE telecommunications company Etisalat has won the rights from Star TV Network to broadcast the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2021 across the Middle East and North Africa region.
The firm will partner with STARZPLAY, which will stream the event.
The broadcast rights for the MENA region belong exclusively to Etisalat and the partnership with STARZPLAY will give cricket fans access to all 45 matches taking place in the UAE and Oman from Oct. 17 to Nov. 14 this year.
Audiences can watch all the cricket events on the CricLife Max channel via Etisalat’s eLife TV, Switch TV, and the STARZPLAY app in the UAE, while subscribers in the rest of the MENA region can watch the games exclusively via STARZPLAY.
Khaled Elkhouly, chief consumer officer at Etisalat, said: “There is no other provider better placed in the UAE to bring sports fans the complete depth and breadth of sports action. Our investment in bringing the very best of cricket action to the UAE and beyond will further solidify our drive.”
CricLife Max will be broadcasting all the matches live along with highlights, pre-shows, and post-match analysis, as well as full-match replays on the other CricLife channels.
STARZPLAY will also be streaming CricLife and CricLife 2 channels, which have the rights for home matches of various cricket-playing nations including India, Pakistan, South Africa, New Zealand, and the West Indies as well as the T20 leagues such as the Pakistan Super League and Caribbean Premier League.
“Partnering with STARZPLAY not only for the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup but for our CricLife channels will mean more fans can watch their teams play in more places than ever before across the Gulf Cooperation Council region,” added Elkhouly.
Danny Bates, STARZPLAY’s chief commercial officer, said: “We have been steadily building on our focus to deliver live sporting events to our subscribers, and nothing beats the joy of bringing the action of the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup to the region.
“With cricket widely followed in the region, we are bridging a gap for our subscribers, who can now effortlessly watch all the live cricket action from this exciting T20 championship,” he added.
