Nine and Ten seal Cricket Australia rights deals

Australian commercial broadcasters Nine and Ten have agreed a A$550m (€418.9m/$538.6m) deal with the Cricket Australia governing body for the domestic rights to Test matches, one-day internationals and Twenty20 competition the Big Bash League, according to The Age newspaper.

The new five-year deal, spanning the 2013-14 to 2017-18 seasons, confirms Nine will retain the rights to broadcast international cricket in Australia.

Nine will pay around A$450m in cash and contra advertising to televise home international matches between November and February.

Nine defeated a rival bid from Ten by exercising its last-rights privilege from its previous contract with Cricket Australia. Nine paid about A$45m per year under the previous seven-year deal, from 2006-07 to 2012-13.

Ten had entered an A$550m bid to cover both international games and domestic Twenty20 league the BBL. It has secured the rights to the latter, which had previously been broadcast by pay-television network Fox Sports, for $20m a year over five years.

Cricket Australia’s new agreements with Nine and Ten represent the richest television deal in the sport’s history in the country and will be formally announced on Tuesday.