Interest wanes in Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan as PCB sells broadcast rights for nearly half the reserve price

The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has accepted a bid that is significantly lower than its initial asking price for the broadcasting rights to international home matches between August 2024 and December 2026. The broadcasting rights for the Pakistan region have been sold for PKR 1.72 billion, which is approximately PKR 1.48 billion less than the initial reserve price of PKR 3.2 billion set by the PCB.

PCB sells broadcast rights for nearly Half of reserve price

While the PCB has not disclosed specific figures, officials claim that the broadcasting rights were sold for more than double the amount received in the previous rights cycle (FTP 2021 to 2024). According to available information, the PCB recently sold the broadcasting rights for the Pakistan region for the 28-month period to a Pakistani consortium consisting of ARY and Tower Sports. The PCB has stated that the sale price was higher compared to the previous contract.

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The PCB stated that the broadcasting rights were awarded "through a transparent bidding process" that attracted multiple bids.

The rights cover 11 Test matches, including seven in the 2024-25 season, 26 One-Day Internationals (ODIs), and 24 Twenty20 Internationals (T20Is).

Among the ODIs are two three-nation ODI series scheduled for the current and upcoming seasons.

The absence of interest from prominent foreign broadcasters in the Pakistan international home season rights indicates that the PCB is facing challenges in generating the anticipated revenue from broadcasting rights.

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Even Pakistan Television, the state-owned network, submitted a bid of PKR 1.6 billion and did not increase the amount, despite the final successful bid reaching PKR 1.72 billion.

“It is far less than initially what the PCB had anticipated while keeping its reserve price of PKR 3.2 billion,” a source privy to the development said, as quoted by News 18.

Additionally, Pakistan Television (PTV) acquired the broadcasting rights after obtaining a sub-license from the consortium for PKR 500 million.

As a result, both the consortium and PTV benefited from profitable deals, but the PCB missed out on maximizing the financial potential of this busy season.

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