Dubai, Apr 13 (IANS): The International Cricket Council on Thursday announced SuperSport International (Pty) Limited has secured a new broadcast and digital deal for broadcasting global cricket tournaments across 52 territories in Africa.

The new direct deal will see the continuation of the successful partnership of the ICC with SuperSport in the Sub-Saharan region which has been in place since 2007.

ICC stated in an official statement that Supersport, which has 22.1 million subscribers across 52 territories, provides an excellent platform to grow the cricket fan base and engage more people with cricket in Africa in line with the global growth strategy for the sport.

"We are delighted to be continuing our successful and proven partnership with SuperSport. There is a real opportunity for more fans to engage with ICC events and enjoy cricket across the 52 territories."

"Following the hugely successful ICC Women's T20 World Cup 2023 and the legacy left for women's cricket in South Africa, I am confident that this strategic partnership will play a major part in building the momentum for women's sport in the region too," said Geoff Allardice, ICC Chief Executive.

The deal includes the next eight years of rights for all matches of the 12 men's senior events up until the end of 2031, including the ICC Men's Cricket World Cup 2027 which will take place on African soil in South Africa, Zimbabwe and Namibia for the first time since 2003.

The partnership will also include every match for the next four years of women's events, which following the success of the recent 2023 ICC Women's T20 World Cup in South Africa, has seen an incredible increase in interest, and left a wonderful legacy for women's cricket.

"We are delighted to have secured another deal with the ICC, continuing our excellent partnership. We are excited to deliver ICC cricket coverage to Africa for the next few years and provide new experiences for fans across the continent," said Marc Jury, CEO, MultiChoice South Africa.

ICC stated that there was huge growth in terms of South Africa viewership for the 2023 Women's T20 World Cup event, shattering past records with an increase of 790% of fans tuning in to support the World Cup compared to 2020.

In addition, all matches of all U19 World Cups, both men's and women's, will be covered as part of the deal. Digitally, fans will be able to access all the ICC major event content via the DStv app.