Now TV has apologised to subscribers after incorrectly stating in an email that Sky Sports was to broadcast England’s upcoming Test series with India.
“We’re sorry – we made a mistake in a previous email. We incorrectly included information about the India & England Test series,” said Now TV in a subsequent email, referring to a section entitled ‘Must see matches this February’. “Unfortunately, we don’t have the rights to that series and are sorry for any confusion caused.”
England’s four-Test series with India is set to begin on Friday, February 5 but confirmation still awaits as to who will broadcast the series in the UK. A protracted process has seen speculation fly about the eventual UK home for the series, with at least four different outlets reportedly in contention.
This email has just gone out from Now TV (ie Sky) pic.twitter.com/Qswky6iC2l
— Ali Martin (@Cricket_Ali) January 31, 2021
According to reports, Channel 4 is the frontrunner to bag the rights for the series, with the Telegraph stating that an announcement is likely on Monday.
Should that be the case, it will mark the return of live Test cricket to terrestrial TV in the UK for the first time since England’s historic 2-1 Ashes win in 2005. However, reports suggest a significant bid from a subscription broadcaster could yet trump Channel 4.
The rights are owned by Star Sports, a subsidiary of Disney. It had originally been reported that Disney+, Disney’s streaming service, would broadcast the action, but the likelihood of that outcome has since diminished.
