Cricket Australia on Tuesday (June 4) announced an unprecedented Aus$590 million (US$570 million) deal with free-to-air television networks Nine and Ten to allow them to broadcast the sport -- a 118 percent increase on the previous five-year contract.
Channel Nine, featuring veteran cricket commentator Richie Benaud, will continue to show
Australian home Test and one-day matches as it has done for more than 30 years.
The network had been in danger of losing the sport after Channel Ten reportedly offered Cricket Australia $500 million for coverage rights for the next five years -- well above the $45 million paid by Nine annually for the last seven years for international matches on home soil.
"There was never any doubt that Channel Nine was going to get the cricket," Nine chief executive David Gyngell said.
Under the new deals, rival Ten will broadcast Australia's Twenty20 competition, the Big Bash League. Cricket Australia said the deal with Nine was worth $450 million and the agreement with Ten $100 million.
"The Twenty20 Big Bash League is a great competition and Ten and Cricket Australia will make it a major free-to-air television event," Ten chief executive Hamish McLennan said.
Ten's McLennan said his network put a "very healthy bid on the table" for wider coverage rights but was always aware that Nine had the right of last refusal.
"We feel like we have a substantial chunk of cricket in an area we think is growing," McLennan said.
"But the ball was always in David's (Gyngell's) court and we knew that. We knew how important cricket was to them."
Cricket Australia said the deals ensured all international games at home would be telecast live and in full while the Big Bash would be free-to-air and not on pay TV.
Innovative new digital offerings would also offer fans more access to the game.
"The average annual value of the broadcast of Australian cricket in Australia to Australian viewers has just increased 118 percent compared to the last five years to Aus$590 million, which is very important to our ability to invest in the continuing development of our sport," CA chief James Sutherland said.
The Australian Cricketers' Association welcomed the announcement of a new broadcast deal that will see Nine cover home Test and international one-day and Twenty20 matches.
Under the deal, a $60 million joint venture between Nine and CA will integrate the telecast and digital offerings for mobile devices. Channel Nine's televised games will be streamed live to smartphones and tablets.
"Cricket here, as with premium sport globally, is a great value proposition, bringing viewers to TV networks who then tend to stay on for other offerings from those networks, whether it be evening news and evening programming off the back of a game, or other content the networks promote," Sutherland said.
Sutherland added that the Big Bash League deal justified CA's strategy of investment in the shorter form of the game over the last two summers.
"From next summer, Australian cricket moves forward with strong international cricket revenue and also now with strong domestic cricket revenue as well," he said.
Cricket Australia derives about 80 percent of its income from television rights.
It said collectively, its domestic and international rights to telecast each summer's cricket for the next five years amounted to more than $840 million, not including additional revenue from some other events including Champions League Twenty20.
Channel Nine, featuring veteran cricket commentator Richie Benaud, will continue to show
Australian home Test and one-day matches as it has done for more than 30 years.
The network had been in danger of losing the sport after Channel Ten reportedly offered Cricket Australia $500 million for coverage rights for the next five years -- well above the $45 million paid by Nine annually for the last seven years for international matches on home soil.
"There was never any doubt that Channel Nine was going to get the cricket," Nine chief executive David Gyngell said.
Under the new deals, rival Ten will broadcast Australia's Twenty20 competition, the Big Bash League. Cricket Australia said the deal with Nine was worth $450 million and the agreement with Ten $100 million.
"The Twenty20 Big Bash League is a great competition and Ten and Cricket Australia will make it a major free-to-air television event," Ten chief executive Hamish McLennan said.
Ten's McLennan said his network put a "very healthy bid on the table" for wider coverage rights but was always aware that Nine had the right of last refusal.
"We feel like we have a substantial chunk of cricket in an area we think is growing," McLennan said.
"But the ball was always in David's (Gyngell's) court and we knew that. We knew how important cricket was to them."
Cricket Australia said the deals ensured all international games at home would be telecast live and in full while the Big Bash would be free-to-air and not on pay TV.
Innovative new digital offerings would also offer fans more access to the game.
"The average annual value of the broadcast of Australian cricket in Australia to Australian viewers has just increased 118 percent compared to the last five years to Aus$590 million, which is very important to our ability to invest in the continuing development of our sport," CA chief James Sutherland said.
The Australian Cricketers' Association welcomed the announcement of a new broadcast deal that will see Nine cover home Test and international one-day and Twenty20 matches.
Under the deal, a $60 million joint venture between Nine and CA will integrate the telecast and digital offerings for mobile devices. Channel Nine's televised games will be streamed live to smartphones and tablets.
"Cricket here, as with premium sport globally, is a great value proposition, bringing viewers to TV networks who then tend to stay on for other offerings from those networks, whether it be evening news and evening programming off the back of a game, or other content the networks promote," Sutherland said.
Sutherland added that the Big Bash League deal justified CA's strategy of investment in the shorter form of the game over the last two summers.
"From next summer, Australian cricket moves forward with strong international cricket revenue and also now with strong domestic cricket revenue as well," he said.
Cricket Australia derives about 80 percent of its income from television rights.
It said collectively, its domestic and international rights to telecast each summer's cricket for the next five years amounted to more than $840 million, not including additional revenue from some other events including Champions League Twenty20.
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