MUMBAI: The Board of Governors from the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) have approved awarding broadcasting rights to Ten Sports and Pakistan Television, the joint-bidders for PCB’s next rights cycle for five years.

Ten Sports had previously bagged five-year cricket rights from PCB in 2008 reportedly for $140.5 million dollars. The current cycle of rights begins from April 2015 to early 2020. Ten Sports has been the rights holder for PCB for the last 10 years.

The package will also include India versus Pakistan matches, besides some other strong matches. According to information available with Indiantelevision.com, among those bidding for the rights for this cycle were Sony and OSN Sports, apart from a few brokering companies. 

As part of the arrangement, India and Pakistan matches are scheduled for the latter half of this year around November-December 2015, subject to government approvals from both sides.

When contacted, Ten Sports CEO Rajesh Sethi said, “Ten Sports is a market leader in the sports segment in Pakistan. When it comes to cricket, we have a great partnership with PTV as they are our valued partners. Besides cricket, Moto GP and WWE too are very strong properties that are performing well in Pakistan.”