ESPN pays $1bn for Twenty20 Champions League

The huge sum secures the rights for the next 10 years.

"This makes the Twenty20 Champions League the highest value cricket event on a per game basis," said organisers.

The event begins on 3 December, with £3.4m prize money on offer for the eight teams, including Middlesex, but the venue is yet to be decided.

Organisers said on Thursday the broadcaster had bid $900 million for a 10-year deal, plus some $75 million for marketing.

"The commercial rights were won by ESPN STAR Sports with a bid of $975 million (including $75 million for marketing the tournament)," they said in a statement.

"This makes the Champions League Twenty20 the highest value cricket tournament on a per game basis."

The Australian, Indian and South African boards will jointly organise the Champions League, an off-shoot of a lucrative Indian version launched this year.

"We are absolutely delighted that after a fair and transparent process, we have what we believe to be the best commercial deal for the inaugural Champions League season and for cricket fans across the world," Lalit Modi, Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) vice-president said in the release.

The tournament will feature eight sides from India, South Africa, Australia, England and Pakistan, before expanding to a 12-team competition next year.

ESPN-Star Sports was already the ICC's television rights holder until 2015.

In 2006, the network paid $1.1 billion for the nine-year deal that would include two World Cups.