They might need the cash.
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Would love to see Sevenâs shares next Summer with both Cricket and Tennis (50%??).
Nine/Ten wouldnât stand a chance.
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Yep, a $20m profit on the $30m theyâve paid plus avoiding the huge expense of producing tennis coverage which will inevitably be pushed to the multichannels anyway seems like a pretty good outcome for Seven.
And I also still think Nineâs remaining cricket rights could be part of the deal as well.
Donât think Seven would be interested in Nineâs remaining cricket tours unless they were next to free.
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And Seven did a great job broadcasting the AFL in 2001, no drop off in quality despite knowing they didnât have the rights the following year.
Itâs OK, theyâll pass them on to Foxtel.
This is one of those situations with many pros/cons.
Seven will have their biggest summer ever (of any network ever probably) with tennis and cricket. Thereâs also sentimental value and a huge opportunity to thank viewers / farewell staff. And the bragging rights over their rivals. Plus the all important promotion/lead-in to Q1.
But, in saying that, now Seven have cricket (from this summer) and have made it clear cricket is what they want and slammed tennis in the process, makes it so awkawrd and hard to work with TA now. They would no doubt like the cash.
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Do you think that a lot of people will prefer to watch the test matches ad free on Fox?
If they have Foxtel and thatâs a big âifâ.
Iâd saw it would be less ads. Similar to what they do with international cricket now. You would still see the odd ad between overs.
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While watching Fox Footy from Optus stadium and Adelaide oval the electronic banner ads were in fully swing its really annoying the way it flashes in your view of the game
Interesting angle is Optus has lost the digital rights I assume? They might be disappointed, did they even bid?
I donât understand though why Seven would voluntarily want to sell the 2019 AO rights to Nine unless they came to them with a good offer.
The chance to deny both of your competitors any decent promotional vehicle to promote their Q1 line-up would be far too good to pass up easily.
Fox have stated their coverage will be ad-free during play
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The AFR have today published a more detailed account of how the rights negotiations panned out compared to The Australian article which appeared on the weekend.
Thereâs a lot to digest from it but the main thing from it is the timeline provided on how last weekâs events occurred:
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Wednesday: CA and Foxtel agreed to major parts of the deal. They were also negotiating with Seven through into Thursday morning
^ When Ten reached out after their $960 million offer for all the rights was rejected earlier in the week, they were told by CA to engage with Foxtel. It was this point they realized what was left was the package Seven eventually won - âTen was told by Cricket Australia a number it needed to get to and, with CBSâ blessing, put an offer in for $80 million a year â $70 million cash, $10 million contra, or $480 million over six years â to partner with Foxtel.â -
5:15pm Eastern Thursday: Ten and CA âshook handsâ on a deal âand Ten chief executive Paul Anderson signed a binding bid with a heads of agreement to be signed once drafted.â
^ âCricket Australia denies a handshake deal and the binding bid was just that â a bid â and hadnât committed to Ten.â -
8pm Thursday: CA asked Seven and Ten to submit final bids - since CBS executives were asleep, the bid deadline was pushed back until 11:45pm
^ Ten made their $80 million a season bid but Seven offered $82 million ($75 million in cash and $7 million in contra) - 2am Friday: James Sunderland contacted Tim Worner and Paul Anderson to inform them of the outcome
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So from the start of formal negotiations CA always wanted Foxtel to be part of the deal. The only question was how much Foxtel would pay for the rights.
And from the end of the negotiations, it seems like CA bent over backwards to accommodate Foxtel and may have been influenced to choose Seven over Ten for the free to air partner.
Ten âis now pushing the line that it dodged a bullet. The deal on the table was merely the scraps, it privately says, after Foxtel stitched up the main course. It involved no digital rights, and all games being simulcast on pay TV.â
The âscrapsâ must have been pretty good for them to have come within a few million dollars of picking them upâŚ
Tim Worner told Mediaweek ahead of Friday afternoonâs press conference that Seven did want digital rights to the cricket but:
I have been very clear about saying we are going to do deals that make financial sense. To go and get the digital rights in this deal would not have made financial sense.
Why have the 7Plus streaming service if all programs cannot be available as they are broadcast on free-to-air television? Seven have been conned.