England wants $50m for next two Ashes series

afr.com:

English cricket executives want more than $50 million for broadcast rights to its next two Ashes series, an amount that is likely to end Seven’s attempts to bring the biennial contest on to a single television network.

Nine Entertainment and streaming and pay-TV company Foxtel are seeking to retain the broadcast rights, which are held by the England and Wales Cricket Board. People close to the deal, who spoke anonymously because the talks are confidential, said Seven told the ECB late last week it could not afford to stump up the cash.

If Seven ultimately refuses to offer the ECB about $25 million per Ashes series, it would put Nine, the owner of television, radio and streaming assets as well as The Australian Financial Review, in pole position to retain the major England-based cricket series until 2031.

The England and Wales Cricket Board could make more than $50 million on its next Ashes rights deal.  

It is unclear if Nine, which runs Stan Sport, is also interested in securing the rights to one-day matches, which are now run on Foxtel and streaming service Kayo Sports. Sources said the ECB was expecting about $15 million for white ball matches on British soil.

The ECB declined to comment. Nine and Seven declined to comment.

Tony Singh, the ECB’s chief commercial officer, and Guy Le Grew, the chief revenue officer of sports advisory group Pitch International, are in advanced talks and a deal is expected to be finalised before the end of the year.

Two media sources with direct knowledge of the latest deals, signed by Nine in 2019 and 2023, suggest it paid about $23 million per series, but larger audiences and global media coverage caused by Jonny Bairstow’s stumping in the second Ashes Test would only increase the value