UTV Ireland is to broadcast a one hour highlights programme around each of Ireland’s matches at the Cricket World Cup, starting on Monday, February 16th.
“Partnering with Cricket Ireland to exclusively broadcast hour-long highlights of Ireland’s World Cup clashes is great for our audience and for our channel,” said Michael Wilson, CEO of the channel which launched in the Republic of Ireland in January and took five per cent of the TV audience in it’s first month.
In a statement which will be welcomed warmly by other sporting bodies Wilson added that “We are keen to look at all sporting rights packages, on a case-by-case basis, as they become available, and backing the Ireland cricket team as they aim for World Cup glory was a natural fit for us.”
“This is fantastic news for cricket in Ireland,” said Cricket Ireland CEO Warren Deutrom.
“Since Ireland’s first memorable performance at a Cricket World Cup in 2007, participation of the sport has grown rapidly right across the island of Ireland.”
“Hopefully the team can emulate its exploits in the past two tournaments, and the visibility that cricket will receive through the availability of World Cup highlights on terrestrial TV through UTV Ireland will bring cricket to a much wider audience.”
Ireland will take on the West Indies in their World Cup opener at the Saxton Oval, in Nelson Australia, as part of the Tournament’s Pool stages. They will then go head-to-head with the United Arab Emirates, South Africa, Zimbabwe, India and Pakistan, as they bid to progress to the quarter finals.
UTV Ireland is available on Sky channel 116, Saorview channel 6, UPC channel 110 and eVision channel 108. UTV Ireland also offers a catch-up service on www.utv.ie and on the UTV Player, available to download on smart devices.
