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Nine wants Big Bash League rights

Nine will bid aggressively for the BBL rights, admitting, "We want everything" in Cricket.

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The success of the Big Bash League is likely to see broadcast rights boost significantly.

Fairfax Media suggests it may lift from $20m a year to $60m a year.

“Any future deal that we do, we want everything,” said Nine’s director of sport, Tom Malone, yesterday.

“We want Test matches, we want one-dayers, we want [international] Twenty20s and we want the Big Bash. We’ve just got to try and find a way to make it work, but certainly there is a strong desire from the Wide World of Sports and from Nine more broadly to maintain our proud history with cricket.

“Cricket is such an institutional part of Channel Nine – it’s been on Channel Nine for more than 40 summers and it’s something that we want to continue well into the future.”

Nine CEO Hugh Marks also suggested it would be uneconomical for the network to extend its present financial investment in covering international cricket.

23 Responses

  1. BBL has a different “personality” to the other types of cricket. And that BBL personality suits Ch10’s ethos perfectly. That is, don’t worry too much about the actual sport, but make sure you include as much bling, novelty, and fourth-rate celebrities as possible.

    There’s nothing wrong with that, it is nice to have some variety. But please don’t attempt to blend them. Keep BBL on 10, where they don’t take life (or sport) too seriously, and keep the real cricket on 9 where they treat it with the respect it deserves.

  2. This article just revives the mystery about why sports orientated FTA channels like 7 and 9 don’t want a dedicated HD Sports channel, there’s plenty of content available even if it may not be live. Unfortunately for FTA the commercial case for this idea has been dominated by the buying power of Fox Sports, but recent changes in pay TV coverage due to streaming competition have left a few gaps that could have been exploited better. The lack of initiative shown by FTA demonstrates why it is fast losing it’s formerly dominant place to pay TV.

  3. I watch all 3 formats over the summer but have to agree ch10 do a great job ( minus Andy Maher). The coverage is so much better than channel nine which with the exception of perhaps Shane Warne and KP and is now becoming so dull. I’d love to see ch10 cover all formats, I predict the viewership would increase 30-40 %.

  4. No, no,no, no, no! Ten does an amazing job with the BBL and i can’t picture it on any other network. Nine will just dull it down. I really hope Ten keep it.

  5. Here’s an idea. How about Nine just get TEN’s commentry team for the BBL & maybe integrate them with the current team which probably needs to be given the broom anyway. I mean if they are going to pay a King’s Ransom on the BBL rights then they might as well poach TEN’s & formally FOX Sports’s team. Speaking of FOX my prediction is that TEN & FOX Sports keep the rights and share matches. Highlights & Live on FOX & some Live on TEN.

  6. Can we see 9sport as a channel in the future? Maybe they will move one of the other terrestrial Channels to online only and have a sports only channel. At least they then don’t have to worry about blackouts if they don’t include the sports channel on 9Now

  7. >> The success of the Big Bash League is likely to see broadcast rights boost significantly.

    Someone (or perhaps, everyone) should point out to Nine that this success is due in large part to the commentary team – specifically it is not Nine’s commentary team.

    1. I agree with yourself and others here regarding the Nine commentary team. If Nine takes over the Big Bash many will stop watching, including myself. Can you imagine Healy and Taylor commentating, with special comments from Slats. I stopped watching tests and one dayers some time ago, because of the commentary, it’s awful!

    2. There some interesting – on the record – comments coming out of Nine on cricket TV rights recently. As the TV Tonight article notes, Nine senior management understandably want to snatch the Big Bash T20 rights from Ten; but it seems likely Nine won’t pay more in total. So it wants more cricket – particularly the lucrative and viewer friendly Big Bash – but without an overall increase in what it pays Cricket Australia. But how to square that odd circle? If it’s to achieve an unlikely sounding outcome like that you’d have to guess that perhaps a joint/shared bid with Fox Sports could be on the cards – perhaps dropping a few of the domestic international One Day or T20 games – or simulcasting them with Fox, thereby perhaps losing some of Nine’s long-held exclusivity but gaining the Big Bash (perhaps not in totality and/or exclusively) and perhaps coming out with a cost neutral deal…

  8. I wouldn’t be surprised if 9 had the rights to BBL from 2018-19 season onwards. Ten did pretty well with decent commentators. Look at Ten’s coverage. The commentators concentrate well on the match.

    1. (Except Andy Maher and Howie who continue to talk dribble in coverage). I dont mind Waugh. Not just the silly tripe coming from Healy, Chappelli, Slats, co. Nicholas is not bad but lacked personality. I think Roz Kelly is Better than Nicholas as she deserves a lot of respect.

  9. I hope not. I think having a variety of channels and commentators is great for the game.

    Also – Channel 9’s current commentary team would be terrible for Big Bash. I don’t think any of them have even played it?

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