XtraTime Web Desk: India’s forthcoming tour to Australia seems to be in a jeopardy following broadcasters Seven West Media’s intentions to pull out of its agreement with Cricket Australia. The Australian Cricket Board has a similar tie up as Star India has with BCCI. Now with its global broadcast partners threatening to pull out, Cricket Australia will be in deep trouble if it does happen, thereby jeopardizing the upcoming home series against India.
It will be extremely difficult for Cricket Australia to host the Indian cricket team as the tour will involve huge expenses. Virat Kohli and his team are supposed to quarantine themselves in a bio-buddle for 14 days. Cricket Australia has already given an assurance to BCCI that the Indian players will be provided with facilities to train within the bio bubble. The forthcoming tour will feature four Test matches and half-a-dozen white-ball games to be played over November 2020 and January 2021.
READ MORE: Cricket Australia in a spot as Channel Seven threatens to pull out of broadcast agreement
In 2018, CA awarded the broadcast rights to Seven West Media and Foxtel ahead of its long-standing partner, Channel Nine. The deal with Seven West Media and Foxtel was worth a whopping $1.182 billion over six years. It is learnt that Seven West Media has asked for a discount of $137 million over the next two seasons. If that happens, CA will go bankrupt.
According to a report inThe Sydney Morning Herald, Seven has officially notified CA of its issues with the calendar and will not make its next $25m broadcast payment, due on Tuesday. The report says that Seven had issues with CA over the broadcast of BBL matches which was previously televised by Channel 10. The broadcast partner has argued that the BBL this year will be devalued because of the lack of availability of international stars. The need for Australian players to spend longer in national-team hubs because of COVID-19 and a busy international schedule are some of the reasons the BBL will be without the sport’s biggest names Down Under.