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Cricket Australia is poised to announce a new TV rights deal, with Foxtel, News Corp and Seven closing in on extending their current deal.
Multiple reports state CA is set to turn down a mammoth offer from Paramount and Ten – said to be 1.5 billion over seven years – given concerns over both networks’ reach.
Instead, CA appears likely to remain with its incumbents. The Sydney Morning Herald is reporting the new deal will be around $1.4 billion in cash and contra over seven years.
If that figure is confirmed to be true, it will represent a significant win for CA and chief executive Nick Hockley. Averaged out over seven years, the figure comes to $210 million per year, up from the $197 million per year agreed upon in 2018.
Seven has also taken CA to court over a breach of contract relating to the quality of the BBL and declining crowd numbers have also been observed for the sport in Australia.
TV Blackbox also reports that a point of contention in the deal has been CA’s desire to maintain digital rights to use on its own social accounts and website.
The report states broadcasters are “extremely unhappy” with the idea of paying an inflated price and competing against CA’s digital platforms.
Hockley told SEN Test Cricket earlier this week that discussions had been positive and there was competitive tension throughout the process.
“What I will say is discussions are progressing very well and hopefully we’ll have some announcements to be made in the not too distant future,” he stated.
“We’ve had really strong interest throughout the process from all parties. I think what we saw yesterday we’ve seen over a million people come through the gates to watch international cricket this year and the interest we’ve seen and the spirit of the discussions is reflective of the fact cricket is our national sport and our only truly national and international spot.”
The current deal expires in 2024.