ITV will broadcast the IPL for the 2010 season with cricket returning to terrestrial TV for the first time in five years.
International and domestic cricket disappeared from free-to-air channels after the 2005 Ashes with Sky Sports showing all England's matches both home and abroad over the past five years.
Setanta showed the IPL last season but the collapse of the Irish broadcaster has left a void, which ITV have now filled, with the Asian tournament set to get underway on March 12.
IPL officials had already signed a deal with Youtube to webcast the matches but IPL commissioner Lalit Modi feels that now the tournament will be shown by a major UK broadcaster, it is great news for all concerned.
He said: "This is a hugely significant deal for the IPL and ideally suited to the British passion for both cricket and entertainment."
ITV's director of digital channels, Zai Bennett, explained the reason why his company had decided to acquire the rights to the Twenty20 event.
"In only two years, the IPL has already established itself as one of the world's most high-profile and exciting sports events, which attracts some of the very best cricketers from around the globe," he said.
"It is an exciting acquisition for one of the UK's fastest growing digital channels and we're delighted to be able to offer the whole tournament free-to-air to our viewers."