Seven West Media has refused to pay full price for its broadcast rights with Cricket Australia (CA), making a partial payment that is certain to stretch a relationship that is already incredibly strained.
Foxtel is yet to reveal its cards publicly but is also believed to be adopting a similar approach to Seven in its pursuit of a discount from CA.
Seven and CA remain at loggerheads on the eve of the 2020-21 season, with the disgruntled free-to-air broadcaster threatening to walk away from its $450 commitment to the sport.
The media giant last week issued CA a legal letter, declaring the governing body had breached its contract.
CA is yet to formally respond to that dispute, which if further escalated could potentially result in Seven terminating its deal.
The broadcaster, which used a range of arguments while pushing for its annual rights fee to be reduced, has now grown tired of CA’s refusal to enter negotiations and opted to apply its own discount.
Seven, which was due to pay $25 million to CA on Tuesday, has confirmed a smaller total has been transferred.
“Seven has paid the first instalment reflecting our assessment of fair value,” Seven chief executive James Warburton said in a statement.
Seven is unlikely to make future payments, which indicates a legal stoush is looming unless the feuding parties reconcile their significant differences soon.
CA’s interim chief executive Nick Hockley is desperate to avoid a hammer blow to his organisation’s revenue.
He has the backing of a board that has repeatedly declared it will not offer any form of discount on the six-year broadcast deal, which totalled $1.2 billion and was signed in 2018.
Hockley released a statement highlighting the upside of what he termed a “massive summer of cricket”.
“We are confident of delivering a compelling summer schedule that will meet our commitments to our broadcast partners and the high expectations of our fans,” he said.
Seven and Foxtel both remain frustrated at CA’s inability to deliver a final schedule for 2020-21.
CA is waiting on state-government clearances before releasing its updated fixtures list.
The governing body has repeatedly insisted it will, unlike the AFL and NRL, deliver a full season of content as promised.
“We will hold up our end of the bargain. I am sure Channel Seven and Foxtel will as well,” CA chairman Earl Eddings said earlier this year.
Seven has guaranteed it will broadcast cricket while the dispute rumbles on, starting with the season-opening women’s trans-Tasman Twenty20 on September 26.
“We’ll keep putting on a good show and it’ll be great for lots and lots and lots of Australians to watch it,” national men’s coach Justin Langer said.
Warburton refused to reveal the exact figure transferred to CA but noted Seven picked the number after consulting a third party.
“Putting aside the questions of breach, in accordance with the contract Seven has invoked the right to appoint an independent expert,” he said.
“To determine the fair value of the media rights against the expected schedule for the season, compared to the originally published schedule.”
Joshua Kerr
Roar Guru
In the UK, there's an FTA highlights package for every home England international and the ratings for those are decent. So why doesn't this happen in Australia? Because as long as people have some form of access to it, they're not really bothered, they have the choice of whether they'd like the full kit and kaboodle on Sky or listen to the game on the radio and watch the highlights on the BBC later. It's a system that works (not saying that it's the best). The bottom line for me is Australians still have access to more hours of FTA cricket than Brits do.
Joshua Kerr
Roar Guru
No worries!
AREH
Roar Guru
Agree haha...replied to spruce but same can be said for both!
AREH
Roar Guru
May have been said already but another pretty obvious hole in the Ch 7 standpoint being their willingness to sign onto this same deal ahead of a home season without Smith and Warner in the Australian side - talk about poorer quality! I dunno, but I doubt the desired quality of this product can ever be guaranteed - when you consider injuries (physical and mental too, at that), the scheduling overflow that dominates modern cricket, lack of opposition competitiveness - struggling to adapt to Australian conditions - is seen often enough - I instantly think of Sri Lanka's last couple of test series visits, the Windies in 2015/16 and even last season's test series' failed to produce the contests anticipated and were enjoyed only by ardent Australian fans. As for the BBL, many might argue the quality has deteriorated steeply since that 2016-17 season.
Joshua Kerr
Roar Guru
Is this in reply to Spruce or myself, Ryan? These long threads can get a bit confusing.
AREH
Roar Guru
Thanks for that - sure does include ODIs and T20Is. Wow yes - no wonder the justifiable frustration
Dwanye
Roar Rookie
Yep, sorry I meant more ‘strong’ as in the board, the organisation, the direction, the ideas rather then a comp with Zimbabwe and Bangladesh (no offence). But those two and the W.I.’s geting more regular games against the top teams and funding will help them and the comp. It like all other sports leagues, the weakest team is the weakest link, if the weakest is still competitive and strong it helps the entire comp. Atm the big cricket teams just playing each other every other year, playing a minnow in who knows when, don’t help.
Sydneysider
Guest
"Dreams of the sport having a super strong international comp." you should find another sport to watch because cricket will never have a super strong international comp. Best it can hope for is 8 competitive nations.
Nick
Roar Guru
It was, and still is, scandalous tbh. Precedent is set. Nothing can really stop other of those listed sports going behind the paywall now. A disgrace.
Joshua Kerr
Roar Guru
Spruce, you confirming how the anti-siphoning laws actually work is all I needed to hear. Thank you.
fabian gulino
Roar Rookie
excellent comment and well written cretins.I like the comment to channel 9,and vast well expierenced commontators I wish it could happen.
Rowdy
Roar Rookie
Not only are they thieves but also have poor tastes in cars.
Dwanye
Roar Rookie
That sucks Peter, not even able to give games away. A possible future could be a U.S. baseball style season/game. Australia playing India and England every three years in tests and whoever left whenever the can get in line, some teams never to play aust again. Test finish in three days, national test team skills whittled down so much by multiple t20 comps around the world, mostly India, a player never having a cricket home season record like in the past cause those games aren’t what they used to be and just aren’t on. But a t20 style baseball record of 30/40 plus player teams, multiple games a week, playing till they 40. All changed and grown to fit tv, like the U.S. other sport. What does the future hold?
Dwanye
Roar Rookie
Well first off, I know nothing. Cricket is up against it and not as straight forward as regular sporting comps, international boards doing own thing, three diff formats, year round playing, different seasons and the size of the world. What would be best comp (and it all needs give and take from boards and fans), would be an actual season. Maybe Aust doesn’t get a test every Boxing Day, let alone at MCG. Or cricket season Don’t start in November for Aust. Runs from December to August. Aust might play A few games in other Country during our summer. Surely a ‘brain’, a ‘team of brains’ Could work out a World draw for a set season. I think because of huge travel distances, season length and breaks, three formats they could increase team size (I get this changes fundamentals) from 12 man to maybe five extras. As I said ‘don’t know’, but at the moment it’s organised to benefit money making and then only for some boards. No set direction. I think three formats can live together, but it should not be to the detriment of the others, or it shouldn’t be tripled games to grab money. The top four teams in afl, nrl only playing each other every second week would kill the game. A ‘packer revolution’ style billionaire come in, create his own ‘super tests’ and odi’s comp. Ten International teams, travelling roadshow. Not saying it be easy to organise, but it could be done if that the set plan. Atm it’s not the set plan. Yes people saying I’m a dreamer.
His line up of commentators is terrible, true, but considering all the female commentators are just there to fill the quota, nothing but pure tokenism from channel 7/9, I dont think anyone really gives a damn if there are no females. Almost all of them are terrible anyway. Mel Jones is quality, outside of that, painful to listen to, almost as bad as Ian Chappell
Peter
Roar Rookie
Makes you wonder how justified or judicious signing a 1.2 bn contract was when as few as 48,000 households out of a population of 25 million stayed up to watch the games. In saying 25 million I am of course only referring to those with permanent residency. Too much of the short forms of the game to please the insatiable Indian market. Australian's are tiring of it all. They were handing out big bash tickets to joggers in Centennial Park last year for goodness sake and even then people just jogged on by.
Gray-Hand
Roar Rookie
Are television ratings even taken during the Christmas holidays?
Prez
Roar Rookie
As a fan, I think Channel 7 has a valid point. I can't believe after all the reviews and feed back regarding the BBL then CA would go and dilute the series by not having the best Australian players available. Not sure but would think the 2 most important products to CA and broadcasters in terms of value are Test Cricket and the BBL. These are where CA should be putting their and player's priorities.
Joshua Kerr
Roar Guru
Australians are still fortunate to have the amount of cricket they do have on FTA TV, compared to the far lower amount on FTA TV here in the UK (although it has got better this season). What sort of super strong international comp are you dreaming of?
Nick
Roar Guru
Actually Josh, The article is still wrong. The legislation makes it very clear ODIs remain on the list, but just like any other sport can be subject to the underhanded tactics that were seen by seven and fox. Test cricket, or rugby tests, can technically bypass FTA, along with any other of the listed sports. Not just ODIs. That's why it was a big deal when they actually did bypass for ODIs. legal but whaaaaaaaaat? Basically, and clearly, legislation cannot ever be wrong. The article is wrong. It was a mistake to not include ODIs. There is no "update.