ICC U19 Cricket World Cup 2016 set to become most watched event to date

The live coverage will start in Chittagong on Wednesday, 27 January, when a worldwide audience of over a billion is expected to watch South Africa launch its title defence against host Bangladesh in the tournament opener. The match will begin at 0900 (Bangladesh time).

The ICC, in line with its commitment to enhance the profile of the ICC U19 Cricket World Cup, has put in place an impressive schedule that includes live broadcast coverage of all four matches from the Zahur Ahmed Chowdhury Stadium (ZACS) in Chittagong, seven matches from Fatullah (including two Super League quarter-finals and five Super League play-offs) and nine matches from the Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium (SBNS) in Mirpur, including four first-round matches, two quarter-finals, both the semi-finals and the 14 February final.

The 2016 tournament marks the first time that the ICC, in conjunction with its live production partner, Sunset + Vine, will produce the tournament as ICC TV, which will be carried into cricket’s heartlands by 15 broadcasters, including Star Sports (India and sub-continent), Sky Sports (UK and Republic of Ireland), SuperSport (Africa and sub-Saharan Africa), OSN (MENA) and Willow TV (USA). Local broadcast will be brought to fans by an unprecedented four licensees; Gazi TV, BTV, Maasranga and Star Sports.

The potential reach for this event will easily outstrip any of the previous 10 U19 Cricket World Cup events as this is the first time that 20 matches will be broadcast live. In the 2014 event in the UAE, 11 matches were shown, while 10 matches each were televised from the 2008, 2010 and 2012 events in Malaysia, New Zealand and Australia respectively.

The high-quality broadcast coverage will be through 22 cameras and include HawkEye for ball speeds and other analytical insights, while an the impressive and knowledgeable line up of commentators includes Pommie Mbangwa, Russel Arnold, Ian Bishop, Dominic Cork, Sanjay Manjrekar, Paul Allott, Athar Ali Khan, Daryl Cullinan, Lisa Sthalekar, Alan Wilkins, and Rohan Gavaskar.

To highlight the aspirations of young cricketers participating at the ICC U19 Cricket World Cup, in the lead up the event, the ICC launched the #FutureStars promotional campaign on broadcast and digital. In a series of 4 promotional videos featuring Mehedi Hasan of Bangladesh, Dan Lawrence of England, Wiaan Mulder of South Africa and Ishan Kishan of India, these young cricketers talk about their inspirations and ambitions. These promotional videos can be found here.

The event will also be comprehensively covered on ICC digital channels. The official website www.icc-cricket.com will provide live scoring and full match centre coverage for all matches. The 2016 edition is also the first ICC U19 Cricket World Cup ever to have a dedicated mobile App, available on both Android via the Google Play store or iOS via the App Store. Both the website and the app will contain the latest news, columns, video clips, official tournament standings, statistics and much more.

Fans will also be able to catch the Nissan Play of the Day every day on the website and the app, which will be in play for all 18 televised match-days in Bangladesh. On social media, the ICC will have dedicated on the ground coverage from all of the venues in Bangladesh, with bespoke content appearing on all of the @ICC accounts on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Google+ and YouTube.

The official hashtag for the event is #U19CWC.

ICC Chief Executive David Richardson said: “This is the most important age-group cricket tournament, which has a tradition of producing the next generation of stars. As such, the ICC has decided to expand the reach of this event, providing unprecedented broadcast and digital coverage to ensure that individual and team performances are provided greater exposure and that the youngsters get a taste of a truly global event.”

Broadcast schedule (all matches start 0900 Bangladesh time):

27 Jan –South Africa v Bangladesh, ZACS, Chittagong

28 Jan – Ireland v India, SBNS, Mirpur

29 Jan –England v West Indies, ZACS, Chittagong

30 Jan – India v New Zealand, SBNS, Mirpur

31 Jan –England v Zimbabwe, ZACS, Chittagong

1 Feb – India v Nepal, SBNS, Mirpur

2 Feb – West Indies v Zimbabwe, ZACS, Chittagong

3 Feb – Pakistan v Sri Lanka, SBNS, Mirpur

5 Feb – Super League quarter-final 1 (AA1 v DD2), SBNS, Mirpur

6 Feb – Super League quarter-final 3 (DD1 v AA2), Fatullah

7 Feb – Super League quarter-final 4 (CC1 v BB2), SBNS, Mirpur

8 Feb – Super League quarter-final 2 (BB1 v CC2), Fatullah

9 Feb – Super League semi-final 1 (winner Super League quarter-final 1 v winner Super League quarter-final 4), SBNS, Mirpur

9 Feb – Super League play/off semi-final 1* (loser Super League quarter-final 1 v loser Super League quarter-final 4), Fatullah

10 Feb – Super League play/off semi-final 2 (loser Super League quarter-final 2 v loser Super League quarter-final 3), Fatullah

11 Feb – Super League semi-final 2 (winner Super League quarter-final 2 v winner Super League quarter-final 3), SBNS, Mirpur

11 Feb – Super League play/off 7th/8th positions* (loser Super League play/off semi-final 1 v loser Super League play/off semi-final 2), Fatullah

12 Feb – Super League play/off for 5th/6th positions (winner Super League play/off semi-final 1 v winner Super League play/off Super League semi-final 2), Fatullah

13 Feb – Super League play/off four 3rd/4th positions (loser Super League semi-final 1 v loser Super League semi-final 2), Fatullah

14 Feb – Super League final (winner Super League semi-final 1 v winner Super League semi-final 2), SBNS Mirpur