Why Cricket Australia REJECTED $1.5billion TV rights offer to keep the game on Channel Seven

Cricket Australia has avoided international interest and agreed a multi-million dollar contract extension with current broadcasters the Seven Network and Fox Sports.

As part of the reported deal, the Summer Test home and selected Big Bash League matches will remain on Sevens, while subscription broadcaster Fox will continue to show Tests and BBL, as well as international white ball and other national competitions.

News Corp reports that the new contract runs for five years and will begin when the current agreement expires in 2024.

Cricket Australia has eschewed international interest and agreed a multi-million dollar contract extension with current broadcasters the Seven Network and Fox Sports (David Warner pictured)

As part of the reported deal, the Summer Test home and selected Big Bash League matches will remain on Sevens, while subscription broadcaster Fox will continue to show Tests and BBL, as well as international white ball matches. and other national competitions (Network Seven commentators). In the photo, Mel McLaughlin, Ricky Ponting and Michael Slater)

American media giant Paramount, owner of Network 10, had been the leading suitor hoping to loot cricket and made a reported $1.5 billion offer to Cricket Australia (CA) that was more lucrative than those put forward by the networks. australian

Paramount’s streaming service, Paramount Plus, launched in Australia in August 2021 and is already in the local sports market, broadcasting A-leagues and international Australian rules football matches.

But CA is understood to have felt that neither Paramount Plus nor Network 10, its struggling free-to-air affiliate, could match the reach of current streaming hosts.

Fox has a subscriber base of 4.4 million, of which almost 1.3 million are subscribed to the Kayo streaming platform, while coverage of Seven’s Test has continued to be among the top shows on broadcast television this summer. .

Paramount Plus has yet to disclose its own figures, but August estimates by market research specialist Roy Morgan put the platform’s local subscriber base at around 400,000.

Fox has a subscriber base of 4.4 million, of which nearly 1.3 million are registered with the Kayo streaming platform, while coverage of Seven’s Test has continued to rank among the highest shows on broadcast television this summer. (Image by Big Bash League)

CA’s decision to bypass Paramount comes after the AFL opted to reject the US company’s advances last year, despite it also being the highest bidder on that occasion.

The new deal marks the burial of the hatchet for Cricket Australia and Sevens after the network took CA to Federal Court seeking to terminate the final two years of its current six-year contract for alleged breaches.

Seven had been seeking documents to determine whether CA had made “reasonable efforts” to ensure the BBL matched the quality of rival leagues, including the Indian Premier League, but it was understood that it was prepared to drop the case if current agreements were extended. .

The new deal marks the burial of the hatchet for Cricket Australia and Sevens after the chain took CA to Federal Court seeking to terminate the last two years of its current six-year contract for alleged breaches (Image by Big Bash League )

The home Test summer concludes this week with the third Test against South Africa, which begins at the SCG on Wednesday.