MUMBAI: Australian media outfits have confirmed and fleshed out a Cricbuzz report that Disney Star has wrested back the Indian subcontinent territory television and digital broadcast rights of Cricket Australia (CA) from incumbent Sony Pictures Networks India.
Australia's The Age and The Sydney Morning Herald reported Wednesday that a broadcast deal worth more than A$250 million ($172.65m) is in the final stages of being cut between Cricket Australia and Disney Star, after the network outbid Sony.
The formal agreement, set to be for seven years, may be concluded by the end of this week, according to both dailies.
Disney Star’s return to ownership of the Australian broadcast rights provided a late twist. Sony was widely expected to extend the deal it had signed with Cricket Australia in 2017 – a bargain that had turned out to be worth A$40 million less than the governing body originally anticipated.
Disney Star's aggressive play for the rights was influenced by Cricket Australia having secured a combined 20 home Test matches against India and England over the next rights cycle, as opposed to 13 during the current period.
As for the Sony's payout in the current cycle, as per The Age, CA's six-year deal signed with with Sony in 2017 was then estimated to be worth around A$150 million. However, last year it was revealed that the agreement was in fact only worth about A$110 million because the fine print included the playing of extra matches between Australia and India that were not a part of the globally agreed schedule and did not ultimately take place.
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