New Delhi: In what comes as a massive blow, the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) were forced to sell their broadcasting rights for nearly half of the reserve price for the international home matches between the period of August 2024 and December 2026. The broadcasting rights for the Pakistan region were sold for PKR 1.72 billions, which is at least PKR 1.48 billion less than the initial reserve price of PKR 3.2 billion the board kept for selling the rights.
However, the PCB claimed that the rights were sold at more than twice the amount from the previous rights cycle (FTP 2021 to 2024). As per the details available, PCB sold its broadcasting rights for the 28-month period to a Pakistani consortium of ARY and Tower Sports. The cricket board clarified that the rights were awarded after following a transparent tender process in which several bids were received.
PCB facing problems in generating revenue
The rights are for 11 Test matches, including 7 in the 2024-2025 season, 26 ODIs and 24 T20Is. The ODIs include a couple of three-nation ODI series in the current and next season. The Pakistan cricket board is experiencing problems in generating revenues from the broadcasting rights as no high profile broadcaster showed any interest.
“It is far less than initially what the PCB had anticipated while keeping its reserve price of PKR 3.2 billion,” a source aware of the developments said.
Additionally, the PTV bought the broadcasting rights after securing the sub-licensing for PKR 500 million from the consortium. For the England vs Pakistan series in October-November, PCB is finding it hard to get a broadcaster in the UK with Sky Sports disinterested in securing the rights for the UK territory. But the PCB is confident that with time in hand, it will eventually find a broadcaster for the series in the UK.
(With PTI inputs)
In what comes as a massive blow, the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) were forced to sell their broadcasting rights for nearly half of the reserve price for the international home matches between the period of August 2024 and December 2026. Cricket Sports News: Latest Cricket News, Cricket Live Score, Sports Breaking News from Sports Today
