Cricket Australia (CA) has agreed a domestic radio rights deal with Sports Entertainment Network (SEN) for the 2020-21 season and expanded its Sheffied Shield coverage through Foxtel.
The deal covers live rights to international matches and the Big Bash League (BBL) T20 competition. SEN has exclusive rights on commercial AM radio in metropolitan city areas and on AM and FM commercial radio outside major urban areas, including rights to syndicate its coverage.
SEN’s coverage will be via its stable of stations across the country.
The previous CA domestic radio rights-holder was Macquarie Sports Radio.
Earlier this week, CA announced that its domestic media-rights partner Foxtel would show live coverage of this year’s Sheffield Shield on its OTT platform Kayo Sports. The competition, which starts on Saturday, is Australia’s domestic first-class cricket tournament contested by state teams.
Last year, the Sheffield Shield was covered only on Cricket Australia’s website and app. The website and app will also show coverage this year.
Foxtel’s deal with CA is for the six seasons from 2018-19 to 2023-24. The pay-television platform has exclusive rights to Australia’s home one-day internationals and T20 internationals, and 16 matches per season from the BBL. It simulcasts national team Test matches and the other 43 matches per season of the BBL alongside CA’s free-to-air partner, Seven.
Seven is currently in dispute with CA over the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on its deal. Seven claims that changes to the schedule have dramatically reduced the value, and was late with one of its rights-fee payments. Australian media reports this week said the dispute may be heading to either arbitration or to court.
CA is reported by dedicated cricket news outlet ESPNcricinfo to be close to a deal with Foxtel on a change to the value of its rights fees this year as a result of the pandemic.
John Stephenson
john@cricketinvestor.co.uk
#Cricketnews #CA #SEN #Foxtel #Seven
