Pakistan cricket is living through its own Murphy’s Law. Everything that can go wrong, is, very steadily, going wrong. In the most recent of these ‘wrongs’, reports suggesting a financial setback, waiting in all its might for the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB), have emerged. As per credible sources, PCB has still not procured international media rights for the Test series against England which is less than a fortnight away.
The problem arose after Sky Sports Network informed the PCB that it would not be acquiring the media rights for the series in October. Sky Sports Network has broadcasted all of England’s away tours for the past thirty years, including the Pakistan vs England games in 2022. However, this time owing to many reasons the news network has decided to opt out. Many cite the dwindling interest in Test cricket amongst viewers, the cost of buying rights for overseas tours, and the ongoing Premier League season as the reasons behind the lack of bids for the series.
Similar to Sky Sports, no other broadcaster from the UK made any bids. Warner Bros-owned, TNT Sport, which was Pakistan’s broadcaster for the recently concluded Bangladesh Test series, also did not show any enthusiasm in July’s tender put out by the PCB for the England series. TNT Sport acquired the rights for the Test series in other countries including Australia, New Zealand, India, and West Indies, but decided not to enter negotiations for the Pakistan tour.
This would mean the Board will either have to go with a television blackout during the series in the United Kingdom or sell the media rights at cheaper rates than what they want. Reportedly, the cricket governing body had set a whopping $21 million reserve price for a three-year-long international media rights contract. However, no bidder showed interest in acquiring the rights for the demanded amount. A foreign company, Sports Five, made the closest bid to the reserve price, which was $7.8 million, almost three times less than the original value. Two more local companies offered a joint bid, adding up to $4.1 million. USA’s Willow TV offered a $2.25 million bid. PCB rejected all the offers, not compromising on the reserve price. To their misfortune, the re-tender exhibited bidders offering 50% less than what these rejected offers did.
PCB currently finds itself in a mire, at a time when the cricket in the country, as a whole, is suffering. Without any media rights in the UK or rights sold at cheaper rates, the Board is bound to incur a huge financial loss. Viewers in the UK would also be rather disappointed if a deal is not brokered between the PCB and bidders before the series begins in two weeks time.
The three-match red-ball series will commence on the 7th of October at Multan Cricket Stadium. The same venue will host the second game of the series as well. For the third Test match, both teams will travel to Rawalpindi. This series is crucial for both Pakistan and England to make their cases, if any, for the WTC final more strong.
