Cricket Australia is set for a financial windfall after British broadcaster BT Sport signed a five-year deal to show its international matches exclusively in the UK from 2016.

The deal, believed to be worth £80m, means that BT Sport will show the next Ashes series between England and Australia in 2017-18 – a move that will be seen as a victory against its fierce rival Sky Sports.

Until now, Sky has marketed itself as the “home of cricket” in the UK and has had exclusive rights to all England Test matches since 2005.

As well as the Ashes, BT Sport will show all other Australian Test matches, one day internationals and T20 internationals played in Australia until 2021. The rights also include the 35 KFC Big Bash League matches.

Cricket Australia’s media executive Ben Amarfio said the agreement signalled a “new era” in Australian cricket broadcasting.

“BT Sport put forward a highly compelling bid for the rights to broadcast cricket from Australia to audiences throughout the UK.

“The broadcaster is uniquely placed to become one of the UK’s largest sports channels and we think cricket can provide the content and opportunities to help them do just that.

“With more cricket content now available via BT Sport, we are making the game more accessible to more people. The principle of taking the game to more people is very important in our efforts to grow the game.”