Sky Sports agrees one-season Cricket South Africa rights deal, securing England tour for UK viewers

Cover Image by Patrick Case

Sky Sports has agreed a one-season deal to show Cricket South Africa's (CSA) 2026/27 home internationals in the UK and Ireland, restoring coverage for England's first Test tour of South Africa in seven years after Sky declined to renew its previous agreement in April. The agreement was negotiated by IMG, CSA's international media rights partner. Financial terms were not disclosed.

Sky Sports - NOW

Sky Sports and its streaming service NOW will carry the full schedule through to April 2027. The season opened on September 24 with the first of three ODIs against Australia in Durban, followed by three Tests. Bangladesh, India Women and Australia Women also tour. England are the commercial centrepiece of the package.

The three-Test series begins at the Wanderers in Johannesburg on December 17, followed by the Boxing Day Test at Centurion and a third Test in January. Three ODIs will follow later that month.

The Test series will be Stephen Fleming's first in charge as England Men's Test head coach. The ODIs will also form part of England's preparation for the 2027 ICC Men's Cricket World Cup, which South Africa will co-host with Zimbabwe and Namibia in October and November next year.

A one-season solution

The deal comes after Sky declined to renew its long-running CSA agreement, as reported in April, leaving England's tour without a UK rights holder less than eight months before the first Test. Sky had previously broadcast every England Men's Test series in South Africa for more than three decades. Rather than committing to a multi-year package, Sky has returned for a single season, giving the broadcaster access to an England tour over the Christmas period alongside an Australia series without taking on longer-term bilateral commitments.

The agreement restores UK coverage for CSA’s most commercially significant touring series of the season. It also provides a near-term solution while leaving the federation back in the market for the following season.

Sky’s Cricket Portfolio

Sky has increasingly concentrated its cricket portfolio around major properties, including England's home internationals and global ICC events. Away bilateral series are becoming more dependent on the strength of the touring calendar and the commercial value of individual match-ups. CSA's longer-term challenge is building enough value around South African cricket for overseas bilateral rights to sell when England are not on the schedule. IMG holds CSA's international media rights through 2031, while the SA20 provides another South African cricket property that Sky also carries.

The 2027 World Cup, co-hosted in the region, gives South African cricket a major global platform. But the longer-term commercial question is whether CSA can turn that exposure, together with the SA20 and its international schedule, into a rights portfolio that commands consistent UK demand across seasons.