Reports indicate that the BBC and Sky Sports are poised to sign a new decade-long deal to share domestic cricket rights.
According to The Times, the ECB wants to push a 10 year deal to give the sport more stability. Sky Sports is honing in on a deal that would secure the bulk of live rights.
However, the ECB still wants a number of matches to be shown on a free-to-air basis. As a result, talks are ongoing to embed the current rights sharing agreement in the new broadcast rights deal.
Currently, the BBC shows four T20 internationals and ten matches from The Hundred each season. It also holds the rights to screen free-to-air highlights.
The current deal came about after a decade-long drought of free-to-air TV coverage. The resulting reduction in profile forced the ECB to review how best to make fixtures available to a wider audience, without affecting the income received from broadcasters.
International cricket rights would continue to be divided up across various broadcasters. This gives Channel 4, BT Sport and others opportunities to continue showing live cricket.