England are facing a possible TV blackout for their Test tour of Pakistan in October, with no British broadcaster bidding for the rights to the three-match series.
The Guardian has learned that the bid document released by the Pakistan Cricket Board last month has not attracted interest in the UK, with none of the broadcasters even entering negotiations at this stage.
England’s final Test series in Pakistan in December 2022 will be televised by Sky Sports, which has exclusive rights to all home matches. Ben Stokes’ tourists made history on this trip when England became the first team to secure a 3-0 series win in Pakistan with exceptional Bazball batting and disciplined bowling, although this remarkable feat has not attracted interest for this year’s tour.
Sky are believed to have given the PCB firm notice that they do not intend to make a bid, while TNT Sport have refused to enter into talks and have no intention of doing so.
To complicate matters, the PCB has hired a local marketing agency to sell the overseas rights of the series instead of IMG or Pitch International making a late deal for England’s Test tour to India this year. Channel 4 bought the rights for England’s Test tour to India in 2021 during the third Covid lockdown, but that was a one-off as there was a large TV audience at home and the channel has not shown Test cricket since.
Sky was the home of England’s away Test series for nearly 30 years, ever since it became the first broadcaster to televise an overseas tour live when Graham Gooch visited the West Indies in 1990, but has increasingly withdrawn from the market in recent years. The company has taken a strategic decision to focus its resources to ensure it retains exclusive rights to England’s domestic series and events such as the World Cup, T20 World Cup and Champions Trophy, which will be held in Pakistan next year.
Sky’s arguments are based on analysis that the costs of buying foreign rights and covering tours with high production values ​​are difficult to justify given the limited number of additional subscribers they attract, especially during seasons when it has so many live football broadcasts. . As a result, Sky Cricket’s winter schedule is dominated by overseas T20 leagues, including the IPL, SA20 and ILT20, with commentary and production provided by local teams.
TNT Sport has stepped somewhat into the void by picking up the rights to Test series in Australia, India, New Zealand and the West Indies, but has shown no interest in the Pakistan tour. The Warner Bros-owned broadcaster has also made cuts recently, pulling out of talks to extend rugby’s European Champions Cup and Challenge Cup contracts. This month, Premier Sports acquired the rights to next season’s competitions.
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The lack of interest from broadcasters will be a huge source of frustration for cricket fans. The challenge of building a Test cricket crowd was presented for England’s series against Sri Lanka at Old Trafford on Wednesday, when several thousand of the 14,500 people who bought tickets in advance did not turn up.
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