Sony Sports and Disney Star were in the race for Srilankan Cricket’s media rights
Sony Networks has again retained the global media rights for Srilankan cricket for the upcoming four-year cycle. With the new contract signed between Sony Networks and Sri Lanka Cricket Board, Sony Sports will continue to house Srilankan cricket for quite some time to come.
According to sources, there was a two-way race for the rights between Sony Network and Disney Star, but ultimately Sony Networks outbid Disney Star to retain rights. However, one of the talking points of this bidding process was the absence of Viacom18 in the battle, who were expected to be a strong suitor for the rights.
It has been reported that the value of the new contract is lower than the previous $23 million. In part, this is due to the decline of Sri Lankan cricket and the lesser involvement of the Indian team in the ICC FTP cycle.
Every media rights deal has an Indian cricket component as Indian tours generate the majority of revenue for the cricket boards. According to an unnamed Srilankan Board official, the board plans to add more matches against the Indian team in addition to eight scheduled matches- three T20Is, three ODIs in 2024, and two Tests in 206.
PCB and BCCI’s media tenders are to be out soon
Besides Sri Lanka's media rights deal, two other big ones are expected to play out in the coming months. The Pakistan Cricket Board is expected to release its tender for media rights of the Pakistan team, while Indian Cricket is expected to announce its biggest media rights deal.
BCCI is expected to release details soon about the after-expiration of Disney Star's current deal, which has been in effect since 2011. Viacom18, Disney Star, Sony, Amazon Prime Video and other platforms are expected to go big bucks for the rights, the battle is expected to reach a new milestone in cricket media rights history.
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