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Seven issues ultimatum to Cricket Australia

Seven issues a 5pm Tuesday deadline for Cricket Australia to accept its offer.

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Seven has reportedly issued a deadline to Cricket Australia of 5pm Tuesday night to accept their rights bid.

According to the Herald Sun, if they fail to do so,  Seven has told CA they will reconsider whether they want to stay part of the bidding process.

Cricket Australia chief executive Nick Hockley indicated yesterday morning that the new broadcast rights deal is not set to be signed off on now until the New Year given directors from Seven, Nine and Paramount, including James Warburton and Mike Sneesby, are either overseas or have been away.

Seven won’t necessarily withdraw from the bidding if the 5pm Tuesday deadline passes, but sources say the network will want answers on what the process entails from here before deciding whether or not to stay in the race – frustrated at a process they feel has been meandering.

Seven is already suing Cricket Australia in the Federal Court, but if their broadcasting offer is accepted, will drop the legal action.

Despite the deadline threat, cricket sources feel that current rights holders Seven and FOX Sports are still the most likely to land the new rights.

However the deadline may bring Paramount and Channel 10 back into the frame, which has already put a massive $1.5 billion deal on the table.

Paramount has also refused an approach from Seven to join forces for cricket rights in a clear message to Cricket Australia that its record $1.5 billion offer was ‘all or nothing.’

19 Responses

  1. So this is now being reported as to be formally announced imminently with the status quo remaining – with the exception that 7 will gain streaming rights to the games they show (a minor plus). This is overall though IMHO a pretty poor outcome, especially with the money mentioned being less than Paramount apparently offered and it was fairly obviously biased from the start with someone on the News Corp payroll allegedly heavily involved in leading the whole decision process :-/

  3. Seems like CA are in a tough spot, where they want to continue with FOX (and their coverage has been amazing TBH), but the only FTA network willing to work with them is 7. If 10 went and worked a deal with Fox, I could see that getting over the line instantly.

  5. In the past few years, Channel 7 have been in a toxic relationship with CA when things that don’t go their own way. I am very annoyed with Channel 7’s attitude towards CA. As a cricket fan, it hurts.
    The sooner 7 loses the cricket, the better. Now that I’m afraid that 7/Fox will retain the cricket rights.

  6. Surely the powers that be at CBS need to replace the hierarchy at 10 if they lose the rights. Money does not seem to be the problem, it’s the way it’s being executed that’s in question.

    1. 100% agree – but they’ve got bigger problems.
      They aren’t paying attention to our small market. 10 execs have a free pass to keep burring the network.

  7. Feels to me like if Seven weren’t with Fox Sports on this then it’d be all over for them, obviously Nine would use Stan and as Paramount says it’s all or nothing, so it’s Seven by default for FTA.

    1. And there you go in the Age last night at 7:30pm: theage.com.au/sport/cricket/foxtel-seven-closing-on-cricket-broadcast-deal-20221227-p5c8z1.html

      “A motivating factor for CA in its 2018 negotiations – when Seven beat Ten to the free-to-air rights by a mere $2 million a season – was to enter into a partnership with News Corp that increased its coverage of the summer game.”

  10. What is one to believe? A few days ago newspaper reports said it looked like 10/Paramount or 9/Stan as the more likely to win the rights and now as stated above “current rights holders Seven and FOX Sports are still the most likely to land the new rights”.

      1. I have read articles indicating Paramount / ten are in the box seat purely because of the $$ offered with news limited journals suggesting CA were hesitant due to their poor ratings and relative inexperience with Australian major sport (why would foxtel / news limited be untruthful?). What is abundantly clear is broadcasters and sports administrators must by hand in glove / symbiotic. Seven and AFL during Covid was a great example. Nine and ARL (until the ceo was forced to resign) and seven and CA are remarkable (for all the wrong reasons) examples. The conspiracy theory part of me wonders whether seven still retains the last right to counter for the Olympics (notwithstanding all the press), ditch the cricket and fork out $301 million for the Olympics.

      2. What sort of blind auction process is it when the highest bidder is considered likely to end up with nothing? It’s now nearly a week since CA Christmas ultimatum, and 3 days after 7’d ultimatum and still nothing has been decided. CA tried to manipulate the outcome last time and Nine just put in a fcke bid and bought the Tennis instead. This time CA has rejected Paramount’s winning bid, is ignoring Seven. Hoping that Kayo and Nine would reach a deal, since Kayo has been putting in most of the money and managing production of coverage. But Paramount, Stan Sports and Kayo are all competing for the only content left to put behind their streaming paywalls

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