The England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) expressed confidence in The Hundred after receiving interest from nearly 100 parties to purchase stakes in the eight teams ahead of the October 18 deadline for the buying process.
The Hundred’s overseas broadcast rights are currently valued at about £2 million annually, with projections of a 42% year-on-year increase, potentially reaching £33 million by 2030. The ECB is seeking global investors for the tournament.
Richard Gould, ECB chairman, stated, “We are not assuming that India’s men’s players will be released because that has not been what has happened.”
He also said, “We are confident in our product in terms of the window we occupy and the players we’ve got available,” adding that not all short-format franchise leagues will survive in the long run.
ECB CEO Richard Thompson suggested that by the 2025 season, not all eight teams might be sold as franchises. The ECB is determined not to sell unless the true potential value is realized.
“What we don’t want is to just feel bounced into selling all of them and thinking, ‘We could have got a lot more if we’d held back because that particular team wasn’t ready to go,'” he remarked. He emphasized the importance of avoiding underselling teams below market value.
The Hundred, a 100-ball-per-team competition launched in 2021, is shorter than T20 cricket and has attracted record crowds, particularly for its women’s matches.
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Name of Author: Cricexec Staff
