Surrey close £60m Oval Invincibles deal with Reliance after eight months Sport Business Surrey have finally exchanged contracts with Reliance Industries over the shareholders’ agreement governing their new partnership in the Oval-based Hundred team after almost eight months of negotiations. The Mumbai Indians owners agreed to pay £60m for 49 per cent of the franchise in February, but talks over the finer details of the deal have been [...]
The Hundred can be cricket’s equivalent of Wimbledon, says chief Sport Business English cricket chiefs want to see The Hundred become its equivalent of Wimbledon as the franchise competition heads for the biggest changes in its short history. The Hundred board, comprising new investors, meets today to discuss next steps, with a change in financial distributions, commercial deals, team names and the titular format all on the [...]
Hundred sees 600,000 tickets sold with TV audiences up Sport Business Organisers of The Hundred sold nearly 600,000 tickets for this year’s competition, with viewing figures also up for the fifth edition of the controversial cricket format. The Northern Superchargers beat the Southern Brave in the women’s final on Sunday in a match that drew 22,000 fans at Lord’s in north London. The subsequent men’s final [...]
London Spirit captain hopes Hundred investment can close pay gap August 4, 2025 London Spirit captain Charlie Dean hopes that more investment into The Hundred can close the pay gap between the men’s and women’s competitions. Players in the women’s top bracket of this year’s edition of The Hundred are set to earn £65,000, a 30 per cent increase on last year, for a month of cricket. In [...]
ECB hails ‘exciting new phase’ after six Hundred deals completed July 30, 2025 England and Wales Cricket Board chair Richard Thompson has welcomed “an exciting new phase” for cricket after confirming completion of the sale of six stakes in The Hundred franchises. The six deals formally finalised ahead of next week’s fifth season include London Spirit, Birmingham Phoenix, Manchester Originals, Northern Superchargers, Southern Brave and Welsh Fire. Despite [...]
Oval Invincibles sale delayed due to unresolved issues, reports say July 22, 2025 Unresolved issues including the future name of the franchise have delayed completion of the sale of Oval Invincibles – and the flow of funds to hard-up counties – according to reports. The deal will see RISE Worldwide, a subsidiary of the Ambani family’s Reliance Industries, take 49 per cent ownership of the Oval Invincibles franchise [...]
Hundred teams to be buoyed by hike in IPL franchise valuations July 8, 2025 Hundred teams with links to the Indian Premier League (IPL) are to be buoyed by increased brand valuations for their subcontinental sibling clubs after a new report revealed major competition growth. While Royal Challengers Bengaluru, who do not have any involvement in bids for the eight Hundred franchises, topped the brand value list at £198m, [...]
Six Nations look to lure Sky by bundling TV rights with Lions June 18, 2025 The Six Nations unions are in talks with the British and Irish Lions about bundling their TV rights for the next four-year cycle. European unions have already sold TV rights for the Six Nations between 2026 and 2029 in a joint deal with ITV and BBC, but have yet to go to market with their [...]
Brighton owner Bloom looks to add French Ligue 1 club to portfolio May 28, 2025 In this week’s Ahead of the Game: Brighton owner Tony Bloom, football films, The Hundred sale, rugby rights and the National League. Brighton owner Tony Bloom is exploring a potential investment in a French club after completing his purchase of a 29 per cent stake in Scottish Premier League side Heart of Midlothian this week. [...]
Hundred: Who are winners and losers from £1bn cricket sale? February 14, 2025 When a collective £975m valuation was placed on the Hundred this month many were surprised a competition in its infancy could fetch such a number. But the franchise competition through, largely, eight 49 per cent stakes being sold by the England and Wales Cricket Board, has exceeded expectations – around £700m was seen as a [...]