The International Cricket Council (ICC) has joined forces with Sportradar in a partnership deal, making them the official data distribution and live streaming partner. This deal will see the Switzerland based company replace StatsPerfrom.
This initiative has been taken by the ICC to reach out to fans globally to engage with the sport. In this agreement, Sportradar will cover a total of 275 top-tier matches including the men’s and women’s tournaments starting with the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup in the UAE, up until the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup in 2023.
With this collaboration, not only cricket will get a global outreach, but it will also create more opportunities for the ICC to engage with the fans. “Innovative use of sports data is one of the key pillars of our digital strategy. This partnership with Sportsradar will help us grow our global cricket fanbase and deepen our engagement with it,” said Finn Bradshaw, Head of Digital at ICC.
Moreover, with the help of Sportradar’s Integrity service, such as the Universal Fraud Detection System (UFDS), will monitor all the 275 top-tier matches. The UFDS uses advanced technology to help analyze irregularities in betting with the help of a global team of integrity experts, which also help uncover suspicious matches. The innovative service by Sportradar is a need of the hour for a global sport like cricket.
David Lampitt, Managing Director, Sports Content and Partnership at Sportsradar also commented on this new deal stating: “Cricket is among the most popular sports globally, and we see huge potential to grow its fan base still further, helping fans interact with the game on an even deeper level. We will deliver enhanced cricket content globally – across a range of platforms.”
These are the massive steps, which the ICC is taking in an attempt to engage with the fans. Before this deal, ICC inked an agreement with Cricket Australia to broadcast Australian cricket on its recently launched ICC.tv platform. This will see cricket expand to upcoming markets such as Europe and Southeast Asia.