Canadian company Live Current Media is to develop the official website for the Indian Premier League in a $50m (£25.2m) deal that will see the formation of a Getty Images-style picture and video syndication service.
Vancouver-based Live Current Media has struck a 10-year deal with IPL and Indian cricket's governing body, the Board of Control for Cricket in India, to develop and generate revenue from two new web portals, IPLT20.com and BCCI.tv.
Under the terms of the deal, LCM will make a guaranteed payment of $5m a year - $3m for the BCCI and $2m for IPL - for the online rights.
After that, revenue will be shared between the partners based on advertising, sponsorship and merchandise sales through the two websites.
LCM is launching IPLT20.com tomorrow, the day of the first match in the Twenty20 competition, as the official online portal for the 59 fixtures in this year's inaugural tournament.
The Canadian company aims to generate revenue from the IPL website by selling products, online advertising and through applications such as a fantasy cricket application for Facebook.
A key part of this strategy will be setting up the website as the official home for photos and short video clips of action from the IPL.
Footage and pictures will be available to buy on the website - but no live streaming of games will be offered.
The IPL has moved to stop specialist cricket websites, such as Cricinfo and Cricket365, having full access to matches from inside grounds, although it has struck a compromise deal with news organisations.
"I expect the site to extend the stadium experience of a cricket match to the worldwide audience of cricket fans at large," said Lalit Modi, the chairman and commissioner of the Indian Premier League.
"The website is highly interactive and includes everything a cricket fan would need to get their daily, hourly and minute-by-minute fix."
LCM aims to develop the official online destination for the BCCI, which represents all Indian cricket including the national team, into a "premier sports website, akin to Fifa.com".
"Our team extends to north America, the UK and India and is set on creating the most interactive environment for cricket fans worldwide to engage in the world of Indian cricket from wherever they live," said Geoffrey Hampson, the LCM chief executive.
LCM also intends to develop its own website domain Cricket.com as a global cricket portal.
