LONDON, Aug 5: The England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) has announced a four-year extension to its existing television contract with BSkyB and Channel Five in a deal worth around £300 million ($600 million).

The current contract expires at the end of next summer, and the new agreement will keep all live home English cricket at Sky until the end of 2013.

Channel Five retains the rights to show highlights shortly after the close of each day’s play.

“We held extensive talks with all broadcasters and were determined to be as flexible as possible in terms of our packaging and scheduling to allow the maximum number of bids for cricket,” ECB chairman Giles Clarke said.

It had been expected that BBC and Channel 4 might submit rival bids, but in the event neither showed interest. Channel 4 were aggrieved at losing out in 2005 and the company is in a less robust position that it was four years ago.—Agencies