The International Cricket Council (ICC) has reportedly formed a working group to shape its media rights strategy for the 2028–31 cycle, beginning preparations for one of the governing body’s most important future commercial programmes.
K. Shriniwas Rao of the Times of India Group tweeted that England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) Chair Richard Thompson will chair the group, which also includes ICC Chair Jay Shah, Zimbabwe Cricket Chair Tavengwa Mukuhlani, Cricket Australia Chair Mike Baird and BCCI Secretary Devajit Saikia.
The #ICC has sounded the bugle by appointing a working group for media rights.
ECB chief Richard Thompson will chair the group that also has ICC chair Jay Shah, Zimbabwe Cricket chair Tavengwa Mukuhlani, Cricket Australia’s Mike Baird and BCCI secretary Devajit Saikia.
Wonder…
— KSR (@KShriniwasRao) September 14, 2026
The working group is expected to oversee and shape the ICC’s approach to media rights for the four-year period beginning in 2028.
ICC begins planning beyond current rights arrangements
The move comes as the ICC looks beyond a period in which the economics of cricket broadcasting, particularly in India, have faced significant scrutiny.
As previously reported by cricexec, the ICC and JioStar issued a joint statement in December 2025 reaffirming their media rights partnership in India following reports that the broadcaster was seeking to withdraw from its agreement.
At the time, both parties said their existing agreement remained fully in force and rejected suggestions that JioStar had withdrawn. The clarification followed reports of financial pressure surrounding the rights contract, which had originally been agreed with Disney Star before the creation of JioStar through the Viacom18–Disney Star merger.
The commercial pressures surrounding premium sports rights had also raised questions over how future cricket packages could be structured and sold.
Rights packaging previously emerged as key industry question
As reported previously by cricexec, Indian public broadcaster Prasar Bharati was evaluating a potential move for ICC media rights in December 2025 amid the uncertainty surrounding JioStar.
A senior Indian Ministry of Information and Broadcasting official said at the time that Prasar Bharati would be interested in participating if rights became available, including potentially for individual tournaments or other fragmented packages rather than an entire rights portfolio.
The formation of the working group now shifts the ICC’s focus towards the 2028–31 commercial cycle, bringing together senior administrators from the governing body and several major national boards to help shape its future media rights strategy.
