Cricket Australia and Channel Seven are locked in a bitter dispute that could result in the termination of their $450 million contract.
Seven boss James Warburton labelled Cricket Australia "the most incompetent administration” he’s ever worked with, with the free-to-air network unhappy with the 2020/21 summer schedule.
Seven want a discount on their $75 million-a-year contract – which still has four years to run – due to a host of big names set to be unavailable for this year’s Big Bash League due to the packed international schedule.
Seven and Foxtel secured the broadcasting rights for Australian cricket in April 2018 which ended Channel Nine’s 40-year partnership with Cricket Australia.
“Somehow, and I’m not sure how it’s happened, but Cricket Australia have managed to offend all three free-to-air networks,” leading News Corp cricket writer Robert Craddock told SEN’s Whateley.
“That’s quite an achievement because normally if Seven hate you, Nine love you.
“But Channel Nine fell out with Cricket Australia and they no longer have the rights. They are pleased to see the back of them.
“Channel 10 are still furious at Cricket Australia … they thought they had the rights the last time they went around but they lost them at about five minutes to midnight, so they’re furious.
“And of course Channel Seven, their fury is on the table.
“Personally, I feel that the most likely outcome is that they’ll get a discount and continue on but they’ve got their dukes in the air and they’ve got gloves on and they’re ready to rumble.”
Craddock says Seven have every right to take legal action against Cricket Australia due to one specific clause in their contract.
“This is where I believe Channel Seven have got Cricket Australia under the contract clause,” he said.
“It’s very specific – you must deliver a product which is the equal or better to the one you delivered last year. It’s in the contract.
“Now this year’s Big Bash, palpably, with all those players missing, will be inferior to last year. If they want to go to court, that’s the contract clause which would get them out of televising the Big Bash.
“With 30 players missing, it won’t be. I really get Channel Seven’s protest here, I really do. And all that we’re talking about here stretches back to one word: Greed.
“When they (CA) couldn’t accept that it was a lovely bitesize format, they had to push it up to 60 games a season and have this marathon format thinking, ‘We’ll get the television rights deal up over $1 billion with this extra-long, awkward, marathon format’.
“It’s taken the sizzle out of it and it was just a bad mistake from the word go.”