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CMS advises ECB on sale of exclusive media rights for India subcontinent to Sony Pictures Networks India

7 March 2018

International law firm CMS has advised the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) on the sale of its exclusive media rights to Sony Pictures Networks India (SPN) for exploitation throughout the Indian subcontinent. This five-year agreement gives SPN the rights to both televise and digitally broadcast men’s and women’s international matches, including Test matches, T20 Internationals and ODIs, played in England, for the 2018-2022 period.

The CMS team, led by media partner and Head of Sport David Zeffman and associate Alasdair Lamb, worked with ECB to draft the media rights agreement and negotiate the terms with Sony. This deal follows the announcement of ECB’s five-year broadcasting and media rights agreements with Sky Sports and BBC in July 2017, for which CMS also advised.

Tom Harrison, ECB’s Chief Executive Officer, said: “Our thanks to CMS for their expert advice and support in delivering such an important partnership. This agreement will help further raise the global profile of the English game – giving both the England men’s and women’s teams valuable exposure in a part of the world where people are passionate about cricket and avid followers of the global game as well as their own national team.”

CMS’ David Zeffman adds: “This is another successful partnership which further supports the profile of the game and gives cricket fans across India access to all men's and women's international matches played in England."