Seven chases TV rights with Cricket Australia
While Nine celebrates its cricketing history with Howzat, Seven is reported to be chasing cricket broadcasting rights.
- Published by David Knox
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While Nine celebrates its cricketing history with Howzat, Seven is reported to be chasing cricket broadcasting rights.
The Age reports Seven has met Cricket Australia at least a dozen times in the past year, discussing buying one or all of the free-to-air rights to the three formats: Tests, one-day internationals and international and domestic Twenty20 cricket. TEN is also tipped to be interested.
Cricket Australia’s seven-year deal with Nine runs until March. That deal was worth between $315 million and $350 million, but the return could double this time, in part due to the success of Twenty20.
Yesterday Nine Entertainment CEO David Gyngell boasted that Nine was the only broadcaster with primetime sports NRL and Cricket.
Nine has always had the exclusive rights to the three forms of the game, but any new deal may see up to three networks handling the different formats.
”The AFL is split over two channels, why not cricket?” one Cricket Australia executive said.
A Seven source said: ”This has been a closed negotiation for more than 30 years. The relationship with Seven and CA has probably never been as active.”
Rights will be negotiated over the Christmas- New Year period because of contractual windows with Nine.
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- Tagged with Howzat!, NRL, One Day International, Twenty20 cricket
13 Responses
good one seven, show interest, force nine to pay a bit more as they did for the NRL
@ giarc12 Cricket Australia will not want some ODI matches dumped to a multichannel and probably get less viewers nor will its sponsors want this as well (commonwealth bank).
@ johnson & giarc12 seven could do that based on current Test Series fixtures, but what if they want to change to fixures slightly or they moved the Australian open by a week throwing seven completely out.
Cricket Australia won’t also like seven using the cricket to adverise the Australian open, almost being a warm up act for it.
Doesn’t make sense with the tennis in January. They obivously are hoping for a split deal maybe for the tests on seven and one dayers and T20 on nine. Obivously couldn’t have the Australian day test match then
Ch7’s commitment to Tennis over summer will be a stumbling block.
@Ingle: The Age report says that the cricket rights may be split, so based on current arrangement, Seven can show tests between the Melbourne Cup carnival and Australian Open tennis, leaving other networks to show one-day international and Twenty20 matches.
@ Ingle. Not necessarily. If FoxSports maintain the T20, this runs from Dec till Mid Jan. On the current Test Series fixtures, they will complete in early Jan. The Aus open is from Mid Jan til end Jan. The only thing it would impact would be one of the two ODI series… But hopefully that is what 7Two or similar could be used for.
I think Fox would benefit from ‘simulcasting’ since they took up effectively almost all the Domestic comps (except Futures, and maybe only because the tech infrastructure to broadcast doesn’t yet exist), already have mag shows in place for the sport and maybe they could use their arrangements with Sky etc to do ‘reciprocal’ coverage of touring teams to Aust.
Agree with Kenny (and the article) that whoever wins the price will go up (and can Ch 9 afford?), but summer being summer often there are competing viewer interests and maybe the ad revenue would be lower.
If anything, 7 need to protect their V8 arrangement I think from going to Ch 10 and invest in that first. (But that’s a whole different discussion!) 🙂
Chance of Nine losing the cricket? Zero. They do a great job. It will simply cost them loads more!
Chance of nine losing the cricket? Zero.
I agree with you giarc12. Sevens camera work and commentary for the the AFL are very ordinary. This becomes obvious after seeing matches broadcast on Foxtel. They do a great job. Apart from a few commentators who should be retired, Nine do a pretty good job with the cricket. You wouldn’t want to risk shifting the cricket to Seven. Leave them with the tennis which they do do well.
Either way, Nine can count on having to pay a way lot more. With the NRL and their billions in debt repayment due, can they afford it?
…and how are seven going to play cricket and the Australian open at the same time?? During January the Cricket and the Open overlap.
I know there is the A-S List, but couldn’t FoxSports ‘simulcast’ cricket locally? With the woeful job Ch 7 does of the AFL (STILL not it Native HD) and Ch 9 in the NRL not broadcasting in HD until they have to, surely this is a good opportunity for Fox to drag the FTAs into the new dimension.
Let’s be honest – if any sport needs a fresh pair of eyes it’s the cricket.