11 Jul, 2023

Willow TV to broadcast MLC across North America in long-term partnership

By Major League Cricket
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Major League Cricket (MLC) announced today that its historic inaugural season will be broadcast live on Willow TV in the United States and Canada this July as part of a landmark five-year partnership.

The long-term media rights agreement with Willow TV brings the transformative T20 franchise competition, featuring many of the world’s top players competing in the United States for the first time, to North America’s premier cricket channel. The broadcasts on Willow TV will feature a world class production, with a 30-camera set-up for the matches at Grand Prairie Stadium in North Texas and Church Street Park in North Carolina. 

The broadcast for Major League Cricket’s sold-out inaugural match, between the Texas Super Kings and Los Angeles Knight Riders, will be shown live on Willow TV this Thursday, July 13, starting at 8:30 p.m. Eastern Time. Six teams will compete in MLC’s inaugural season from July 13-30: the Los Angeles Knight Riders, MI New York, San Francisco Unicorns, Seattle Orcas, Texas Super Kings and Washington Freedom. Further details on the broadcast schedule can be found at Willow.TV.

Willow TV, the premier broadcaster of cricket in North America for almost 20 years, holds the rights to ICC broadcast and digital rights – including men’s and women’s World Cup events – along with iconic global cricket events such as the Indian Premier League and the Ashes. 

Founded in 2003 by Major League Cricket co-founders Sameer Mehta and Vijay Srinivasan, Willow TV was acquired by the Times of India (TOI) Group in 2016, the largest publishing company in India and South Asia. Willow TV’s partnership with MLC will also see America’s new professional cricket league covered with content across TOI.com and Cricbuzz, providing extensive reach to cricket fans across the US and Canada.

Vijay Srinivasan, Co-founder, Major League Cricket said:

“American cricket fans have been watching the best cricketers in the globe on Willow TV for two decades, and now they can follow the same type of world class action happening here in the United States live on Willow TV. We are thrilled to partner with Willow TV over a long-term agreement that will showcase the world’s best players taking part in America’s transformative T20 competition.”

Satyan Gajwani, Vice-Chairman of Times Internet, said:

“Willow TV is the long-time home for cricket in North America. We are thrilled to add Major League Cricket to our portfolio of world class events and provide fans with the chance to watch  T20 franchise action taking place in the United States featuring T20 cricket  superstars that Willow subscribers love to watch.”

The new cricket-specific venue in the Dallas-area, Grand Prairie Stadium, will play host to 12 matches in the groundbreaking American professional cricket championship, with seven matches also taking part at Church Street Park in Morrisville, North Carolina.

Superstar players set to take part in MLC include Afghanistan T20 captain Rashid Khan, Pakistan’s Shadab Khan and Haris Rauf, South African internationals Faf du Plessis and David Miller, West Indians Sunil Narine, Kieron Pollard and Andre Russell, Australians Marcus Stoinis and Aaron Finch, England's Jason Roy and New Zealand’s Trent Boult. 

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Blue and Gold in South Africa. Blue and Gold in India. And now Blue and Gold in the USA. Ryan Rickelton is here and with his big-hitting and smart keeping, will play a major role in MI New York defending their crown going into MLC 2026. As someone who topped the run-scoring charts in the 2017-18 season of the domestic 3-day cup, Ryan Rickelton has come up the South African ranks through the grind of First Class cricket. Over the last two years, he moved into an opening role at MI Cape Town, where he excelled, and since, has become a consistent presence in all three formats for the Proteas. You don’t need to look very far to see what he’s capable of. In the first match of IPL 2026, he tore apart the bowling to smash a 43-ball 81 to help Mumbai Indians chase down their highest total in the history of the tournament. Oh, we’re going to love having him here. Welcome to New York, Ryano! ******Coming in next into the New York Blue and Gold is Corbin Bosch, fellow Protea, who, much like Ryan, is with the #OneFamily in Cape Town and Mumbai. A gun all-rounder, who bowls quick, has a bunch of variations at the death, and is a kew lower-order big-hitter, Corbin is here to conquer America.******Tristan Luus makes this a South African trio, with the double of donning the Blue and Gold in Cape Town as well as New York. He's no newbie here, having been with the team during the 2025 MLC triumph. Having idolized and moulded his bowling action around Dale Steyn, this 20-year-old is one to watch out for. It's great having you back, Tristan!******Allah Ghazanfar, the mystery man is here. Off-spin, leg-spin, googlies, carrom ball, the scooter, he has them all in his armory. This 20-year-old from Afghanistan is here to conquer the USA after his exploits in the Blue and Gold at MI Emirates and Mumbai Indians. He's had a sharp rise, from being the standout bowler at the 2024 under-19 World Cup, to now becoming one of the mainstays in the national side. Welcome to America, AMG!******Swinging it around hoops and coming back for the 2026 season is another familiar face, Trent Boult, the true blue MI globetrotter, who's part of all five teams in the #OneFamily. A two-time champion with MINY, the highest wicket-taker of the 2023 season and the star of the 2025 season, he is back to rip out some poles! ******Coming in next to defend his crown is our very own Nicholas Pooran. The champion of 2023 and 2025. The owner of the greatest MLC knock with his 137* in the inaugural final, he is back in the USA to tonk a few more into the stands. ******Following Nicky P is a fellow Caribbean T20 legend, Romario Shepherd. The Guyaneese giant comes in with an equally huge reputation of being the perfect all-rounder – someone who can be called upon to bowl in any situation thanks to the entire armoury of tricks and variations he has up his sleeve, and someone who can be trusted to finish an innings, thanks to the massive hits he can unleash. ******Serial champion, Kieron Pollard, is back, shedding his catching glove for his batting ones. With his massive sixes, wily bowling, gun fielding, and a never-say-die attitude that has seen him steal matches that were dead and buried, he’s all set to conquer the United States once again. Our Champion of MLC 2023 and 2025! ******Our final signing - Protea, ‘keeper, opener, Blue and Gold ledge! Quinton de Kock, fresh off his stunning century for the Mumbai Indians in the IPL, is back to do the same in America. Oh, we cannot wait for you to smash it all parts, Quinny!