Sky Sports is close to securing the UK television rights to England’s tour of South Africa this winter, bringing a potential resolution to months of uncertainty over the broadcast destination for one of England’s major overseas series, according to a report by The Telegraph’s Will Macpherson.
The agreement is not expected to represent a new long-term commitment between Sky and Cricket South Africa (CSA). Instead, the prospective package is set to cover at least South Africa’s upcoming home summer, which includes series against Australia, Bangladesh and England.
Sky moves back towards South Africa cricket
A deal would maintain a broadcasting relationship between Sky and cricket in South Africa that stretches back more than three decades. Earlier this year, however, the broadcaster had appeared unlikely to pursue a longer-term agreement with CSA as its strategy towards England’s overseas tours continued to evolve.
Sky holds the rights to England’s home international and domestic cricket under an agreement with the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) running through the end of the 2028 summer and worth approximately £220 million (approx. US$300m) per year. Its approach to winter tours has been more selective in recent years, with the broadcaster viewing some overseas packages as expensive relative to their ability to attract subscribers.
That shift created opportunities for TNT Sports and its predecessor BT Sport, which acquired a number of England overseas packages, including the previous three Ashes tours in Australia. TNT also holds a long-term agreement covering cricket in India and has carried England tours of New Zealand, the West Indies and Sri Lanka.
CSA remained confident despite difficult market
As previously reported by cricexec, CSA CEO Pholetsi Moseki remained confident in May that the governing body would secure a broadcast partner for England’s tour despite Sky having stepped back from negotiations at that stage.
CSA was navigating a changing media environment in which reduced competition among broadcasters was putting pressure on the potential value of international cricket rights. The governing body nevertheless maintained that sufficient time remained to complete an agreement before England arrived in December.
The prospective Sky deal would provide an answer to that search while giving the broadcaster a significantly fuller South African home season than was available a year earlier. South Africa, who won the 2025 World Test Championship, did not stage a home Test the following summer but are scheduled to host eight Tests this season across series against Australia, Bangladesh and England.
UK rights market has challenged overseas tours
The uncertainty surrounding the South Africa package formed part of a wider difficulty in selling England’s overseas cricket rights in the UK. As reported previously by cricexec, both CSA and Cricket Australia had been struggling in April to secure UK broadcast agreements for upcoming England tours amid declining valuations and increasingly selective broadcaster strategies.
Scheduling has added to the commercial challenge. England’s South Africa Tests fall across the festive period, when broadcasters already carry substantial competing sports inventories. Sky’s portfolio includes Premier League football as well as the PDC World Darts Championship under a deal worth approximately £25 million (approx. US$34m) per year.
The South Africa Tests are nevertheless scheduled to begin at around 8am GMT, allowing the cricket to run through the daytime. Sky’s expected return to the market would add the series to its Christmas sports schedule despite its broader caution towards England’s recent winter tours.
England set for three-Test South Africa series
England’s Test series begins at the Wanderers in Johannesburg on December 17 before moving to SuperSport Park in Pretoria for the Boxing Day Test. The final Test starts at Newlands in Cape Town on January 3, where around 10,000 England supporters are expected to attend.
The tour also includes three ODIs following the Test series and will be England Head Coach Stephen Fleming’s first series in charge.
England have a busy overseas programme ahead, with trips involving Pakistan, Australia, South Africa and Bangladesh before a one-off pink-ball Test in Melbourne marking 150 years of Test cricket. Several television arrangements for those assignments remain unresolved.
For the South Africa leg, however, Sky’s expected agreement would bring the months-long rights process closer to completion and return England’s tour to a broadcaster with a longstanding history of carrying cricket from the country.
