Cricket Australia board director’s ties to News Corp raise eyebrows

Foxtel and Seven have offered less money than Network 10’s owner Paramount, but has imposed pressure on the sports body by suggesting its rival is too troubled a network to offer audience value for the deal.

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Media sources, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because talks are commercial in confidence, said they are unsure whether a deal will now be struck before Christmas given CA and the prospective broadcasters are not in agreement on a range of key sticking points.

Paramount and Network 10 remain in the box seat to win CA’s media rights auction, as Seven and Foxtel have so far been unable to match its $1.5 billion offer for rights to Test matches, one-day internationals, T20s, the Big Bash League and the Women’s Big Bash League. But with most media executives taking holidays at the end of the year, it is unlikely a deal will be done before Christmas.

CA chief executive Nick Hockley said on SEN on Sunday he couldn’t comment on discussions, but said the talks were “active”. “There’s strong interest and that’s reflective of the passion for the game around the country,” he said. “We are working through it thoroughly and to make sure we get the best result…there’s no specified timeline.”

For Paramount, one of the key concerns is the additional production expense, which is about $40 million per year in addition to the broadcast agreement. Media sources said Paramount and CA are still debating which matches go behind a paywall or on free-to-air television network Channel 10.

For Seven, the sticking points are securing digital rights for its free streaming service 7Plus, and bringing ODIs in front of the paywall (they currently sit on Foxtel and streaming service Kayo Sports). Seven, who is suing CA for allegedly breaching its contract by reducing the quality and standards of the BBL, is also requesting the competition to be shortened and amended.

Hockley said the competition had already improved significantly this year.

This masthead revealed last week that pay TV giant Foxtel has privately agreed to let Seven stream key cricket matches on its online platform 7Plus if it means securing the rights for another term. The Daily Telegraph revealed on Friday that Seven had promised to drop court action if it wins the TV rights.

However, Foxtel is not willing to give up the exclusive rights to ODIs, which it secured under the previous agreement with CA. Even if Seven and Foxtel find common ground, their combined offer will not be an increase on the existing deal, which is worth about $197 million per year. Seven and Foxtel are not willing to pay more money, but believe they can offer greater promotional muscle than Paramount.

Outgoing CA chair Henderson has said publicly he believes cricket is undervalued in the broadcast market, but a range of factors is limiting the money on offer. All networks believe CA has overvalued how much its rights are worth, given it is struggling to attract large audiences to the BBL and the poor ratings of Test matches between Australia and the West Indies (who are returning for summer next year).

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