Google has announced a partnership with the Indian Premier League to live-stream upcoming cricket matches on YouTube.
This isn’t the first time YouTube has delved into the live-streaming arena but it is the first sport event.
Most of the site’s live shows have been music based – late last year it announced it was showing a U2 gig live and its first-ever live-streamed event was aptly called YouTube Live – a concert which featured music from Katy Perry, Will.i.am and Joe Satriani.
"We are thrilled to have the IPL as our global partner," explained Shailesh Rao, a Senior Manager of Google India, in a statement. "YouTube offers an open platform for sports and entertainment companies to take their content to a global audience and a great opportunity for advertisers."
The online content will start 12 March and run to 25 April, covering a Twenty20 tournament, and YouTube will have the exclusive online rights to the footage for two years.
There will be a dedicated channel to the cricket action, which you can find at: www.youtube.com/ipl
