Opinion
Most cricket fans might be aware that the current deal for television rights will be expiring next year, and that later this year we’ll see networks line up their bids for the next cycle of cricketing broadcast in our country.
Here, I’m trying to explore how the networks line up, what to expect and if the fans benefit moving forwards.
The sad truth is that the television networks don’t run the same way today as they did back when Fox and Channel 7 won the rights, in 2017.
So, sadly I don’t expect those same deals will never be on the table again, i.e. Channel 10 will not bid to have every bit of cricket on their primary and secondary FTA channels for free.
Channel 9 won’t have all games for free on their channel, as they’ve branched out into Paramount+ and Stan Sports respectively.
Looking at the current options – we have four main contenders. Fox, 10, 9 and 7. I’m disregarding ABC and SBS from this race as they don’t have the funds. Similarly I am discarding options like Optus Sports or the likes as they don’t have cricket ambitions.
Starting with Ch. 9. Now this is a personal opinion, but Channel 9’s coverage for all its nostalgia, was absolutely terrible by the end of their last deal.
While it’s something that can be improved upon, their attitude towards cricket still is ridiculously weird. From having tennis hosts lined up for their Ashes coverage in 2019, to glossing over both men’s T20 WC last year and Women’s World Cup this year – it seems cricket is not on their agenda.
That’ll align with the money they’ve spent on tennis coverage and recently acquiring rugby union and UCL.
However, 9 bosses have said they can carry both tennis and cricket in the summer (have no idea how they’ll pull that off financially).
Rod Marsh (Photo by Adrian Murrell/Getty Images)
Stan Sports is a massive factor in this as well.
Stan Sports is in its infancy and needs more events than the occasional tennis and UCL. I don’t think Ch. 9 can win the cricketing rights and for me they’re more of an outsider. P.S. Channel 9 are now chasing Olympics too.
Next, ch. 7. Have they had a history with CA already. Having sued them for not fulfilling their “quality” duties and then having lost that case, their relationship can be best described as frosty.
The decision to swap tennis for cricket hasn’t paid off as well they hoped, but let’s not forget in terms of ratings they’ve done alright. Non-AO weeks Ashes and BGT they won the week in ratings over MFS and other stuff on 9.
They still don’t have a paying subscription model, which worked wonderfully for the Olympics. Where now? Well, Olympics coverage is under threat, they’re nowhere close to any steals from other networks and AFL is their benchmark and keeps doing well.
Will they continue on with cricket? I’d say they’d bite their tongue, look at the Ashes ratings and try bang on. Else they’d have a big broadcasting hole in the summer.
Next, ch 10. Boy, did they try for the rights last time. All cricket, including shield. All on FTA. No paid subscribers. Everything free for everyone.
The dream bid for a fan – which didn’t meet CA’s expectation money wise. And collapsed. Since then, CBS and Paramount+ have happened. And they’ve dipped their toes into some sporting waters with A-league. Started off poorly, but since then it’s been okayish.
With CA, I’d expect them to bid and bid big. They have the money. They have a platform devoid of content. And if they need to keep growing Paramount+ numbers, they’ve to attract customers with something more.
The flip side is cricket with 10 will no longer be all free. Expect ODIs, T20s, some BBL made subscriber only on their streaming platform. That’s the only reason they’d at all be interested in these rights but expect them to go big.
Lastly, Fox. Anytime PayTV enters the conversation, we know that it leads to lack of growth of the sport. Ethical reasons aside, Fox has done a good job.
Kayo was launched and it made access cheaper. 24/7 channels, quick highlights, ad-free and a one-stop platform for not just Aussie cricket, but with it Indian, English, Kiwi, South African cricket and leagues and ICC tournaments.
However, just focusing on Aussie cricket, they’ve pulled in strong ratings as well. BBL keeps declining, but international cricket remains strong. So, expect them to bid and try hard. They lost A-league to 10, part of NBL to ESPN, rugby union to Stan, but cricket has been identified as one of their core sports coverage alongside motorsports, AFL and NRL.
Can they continue their deal? They paid a lot for F1 extension and acquired Netball from Ch. 9 recently. So, who knows what’s left in the kitty, but they’ve pulled in more money than predicted in the pandemic.
So, here’s my take. Ch. 9 is the least likely to win the rights and Ch. 10 in sheer terms of what it’ll mean to them and money available, will be the forerunner. Fox and Channel 7 both should be extremely interested in continuing this deal but can be eclipsed by 10’s foreign investors.
It’ll be an interesting battle between these two.
However, for the fans, unfortunately the era where you can watch all cricket for free on your telly is done and won’t come back. So whether you shell out money for Kayo, or Paramount or Stan, eventually you have to, in order to watch all games live.
Each have their pros and cons, Kayo gives you more cricket, Stan has mandatory entertainment stuff tied to it, yada yada but none is free.
P.S. Ash retired this year and that obviously will have an impact when AO returns next year on tv ratings. Will that tempt 9 into going big? Also if Fox wins the rights, they have to have a FTA partner for the tests – if 7 pulls out, will we see a 10+Fox combination? If you ask me, I’d say Fox+7 will get an extension but 10 will come extremely close.
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