A new city-based cricket
Twenty20 competition was first proposed by the
England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) in September 2016. Following early discussions between the 18
first-class counties, the
Professional Cricketers' Association (PCA) and the
Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) they voted 16–3 in favour of developing the competition. On 26 April 2017, members of the ECB voted by 38–3 to push ahead with the new competition. The idea of switching the competition from the established
Twenty20 format to an entirely new type of cricket was first proposed by Sanjay Patel, the ECB's chief commercial officer, in a private October 2017 meeting with senior cricket officials. He argued that the hundred ball format would be simpler to understand for new audiences that the competition wants to attract. Former England player and Northern Superchargers head coach
Dani Hazell stated that the tournament would help with investment into the women's regional structure and the tournament would be an important learning experience for domestic players. The tournament was delayed by a year due to the
COVID-19 pandemic. The profitability of The Hundred has been a subject of debate. In 2016, a report produced by
Deloitte had predicted the tournament would make about £27m profit per year. The
ECB reported in 2022 that The Hundred had made an £11.8m profit. A report produced in 2023 by Fanos Hira, a chartered accountant, and assisted by ECB chairman Richard Thompson, showed a loss of £9m in its first two years. These figures do not include the £24.7m promised to the counties and MCC. The ECB's chief executive Richard Gould said he expected the tournament was "here to stay" beyond the current deal with
Sky Sports, which runs until 2028. For the third season of The Hundred, it was announced that the 100-ball cricket competition would be collaborating with
Marvel Comics. A selection of Marvel's characters, such as Hulk, Iron Man and Black Panther featured in digital content with players from across all eight teams to introduce the competition to new audiences.
Investment and possible future match format change In 2024, the ECB secured support from county cricket clubs to transfer ownership of the eight franchises away from the ECB, with the host counties (or MCC for London Spirit) given 51% of their franchise, and the ECB retaining 49%, which they would make available to private investors. The proceeds from the sale of the ECB's 49% stake would see 90% split equally between the 18 counties and the MCC, with 10% going to the recreational game. Any host selling part or all of their 51% stake would see proceeds split in the following way: 80% for the host county, 10% split between the 18 counties and MCC, and 10% for the recreational game. In September 2024, it was reported the ECB had turned down a £400m offer for 75% of the competition, from
Bridgepoint Group, a London-listed buyout firm. In October, MCC held a vote in which its members voted in favour of accepting the ECB's offer. The process of courting potential investors culminated in the final stage taking place in January 2025. A 49% share in
Birmingham Phoenix was sold for approximately £40m to Knighthead Capital, a US investment group that including
NFL quarterback
Tom Brady. On the same day,
Oval Invincibles announced that the
Ambani family, owners of the
Mumbai Indians, had acquired a 49% stake for around £60m.
Sanjay Govil's
Washington Freedom bought a 50% stake in
Welsh Fire and a consortium of tech billionaires led by
Nikesh Arora acquired 49% of
London Spirit for £145m.
Lancashire became the first host county to sell part of their stake in their franchise, with 70% of the
Manchester Originals going to the
RP-Sanjiv Goenka Group, owners of the
Mohun Bagan Super Giant and
Lucknow Super Giants, for approximately £81m. This transaction established RPSG as the principal stakeholder in the Manchester-based team, with Lancashire County Cricket Club retaining the remaining 30% ownership.
Yorkshire then sold their entire stake in the
Northern Superchargers to
Sun Group, the owners of
Sunrisers Hyderabad, for around £100m. On February 11, 2025,
Chelsea co-owner
Todd Boehly's
Cain agreed to buy a 49% share in
Trent Rockets for close to £40m. On February 12,
GMR Group, owner of
Hampshire Cricket Club, agreed a £48m deal for the ECB's 49% stake in
Southern Brave. The sales were finalised in the second half of 2025 leading to Northern Superchargers and Oval Invincibles being rebranded as Sunrisers Leeds and MI London respectively. In August 2025 ,
The Guardian reported that the new IPL-affiliated investors were keen to change the format of The Hundred from 100 ball cricket into a franchise T20 tournament to align with other franchise leagues. Months earlier in April of the same year, the
England and Wales Cricket Board had admitted it was "open to discussions" about changing the format of The Hundred into a franchise T20 cricket tournament. It has been noted by sources such as
ESPN that any attempt change of format to The Hundred before 2028 could face objections from
BBC Sport and
Sky Sports, who are the contracted broadcasters for the tournament. ==Format==