Lancashire have announced the launch of a new premium streaming service, LancsTV+, which will place all men’s home matches behind a paywall for the 2026 season.
Lancashire to put home games behind paywall
The platform, an upgraded tier of the club’s existing LancsTV service, will become the exclusive destination for live streams of Lancashire men’s fixtures across competitions, including the County Championship, the Metro Bank One-Day Cup and the Vitality Blast. This marks a departure from the county’s previous model, where matches were widely available free-to-air via YouTube.
Under the new structure, only the opening ten minutes of men’s matches will be shown with full production on YouTube. Thereafter, the free feed will switch to a pared-back version featuring radio commentary, a live scorecard and replays, with full live coverage restricted to subscribers of LancsTV+.
The move will also apply to high-profile fixtures, including the Roses T20 clash against Yorkshire at Emirates Old Trafford on July 10, which will be streamed on the platform in addition to its broadcast on Sky Sports.
Lancashire stated that the introduction of LancsTV+ reflects increased investment in its digital offering, estimated at approximately £250,000 annually. Access to the service will be included at no additional cost for existing members, while non-members will be able to subscribe for £20 per year.
The first fixture to be broadcast exclusively on LancsTV+ will be Lancashire’s County Championship match against Middlesex at Emirates Old Trafford, scheduled for May 8.
Despite the shift for men’s cricket, the club confirmed that all women’s domestic matches will remain free-to-air, continuing to be streamed on YouTube as part of its commitment to growing the women’s game.
In addition to live match coverage, LancsTV+ will host a range of exclusive content, including documentaries, behind-the-scenes features and player interviews. This includes a second instalment of the club’s women’s documentary ‘Building Champions’, which follows their 2025 double-winning campaign, and a feature on men’s head coach Steven Croft.
The move has been criticised by David Llyod, former England and Lanchashire legend, who posted on social media that he was "saddened by this".
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