Craddock: CA needs to be careful of any devils in future deals

Saturday night’s harrowing incident at the A-League’s Melbourne derby should leave cricket executives wary of making any deals that promise big dollars but can’t deliver its targets, writes Robert Craddock.

The shockwaves of Australian soccer’s night of shame could echo all the way into cricket’s billion dollar broadcasting rights negotiations which are balanced on a razor’s edge.

The strong warning for cricket is to be careful of the detail in a long-term contract which promises big bucks but the dollar flow gets choked by unreached targets.

The source of the anger in the horrific crowd protests at the A League which saw the local derby at Melbourne’s AAMI Park abandoned was the decision to sell off the next three grand final hosting rights to Sydney in a $12 million package.

The grand finals were sold partially because the A League did not receive as much money as it expected from its five-year deal with Network 10 and Paramount after Paramount’s soccer-related subscriptions fell short of expectations.

Saturday’s incident at an A-League match initially began as a nonviolent protest before descending into chaos. (Photo by Darrian Traynor/Getty Images)

As a consequence of the shortfall, handouts to A League clubs were lower than expected.

Paramount have offered the highest deal for the cricket rights in a $1.5 billion package which is believed to be $40 million a year in advance of the package offered by Channel 7 and Foxtel-News Corp.

But cricket administrators will be wary about signing a supercharged dollar package if there is any potential devil in the detail.

Channel 7 has promised to abandon court action if it wins the rights as cricket bosses face a crunch decision between the established stability of Fox and Seven and a $200 million windfall.

The deadline has passed for final offers and Cricket Australia is likely to make an announcement before Christmas.

While Test cricket remains a sought-after commodity – the ratings for the first day of the South Africa Test were strong – all networks had concerns over the fading performance of the Big Bash.

The Big Bash League has waned in popularity in recent times. (Photo by Paul Kane/Getty Images)

Cricket Australia chief executive Nick Hockley told SEN on Sunday he was confident in the product.

“I can’t comment on what are commercially confidential discussions but what I can say is that the discussions are very live and very active,” Hockley said.

“There’s strong interest and I think that’s reflective of the passion for the game around the country. And the fact that Test cricket is flying as we saw yesterday.

“The Big Bash and WBBL, they remain the first and fourth most watched sports leagues in Australia so those discussions are live and active.

“We are working through it really thoroughly and to make sure we get the best result for Australian cricket and for all parties. So there’s no specified timeline.”

Originally published as Craddock: CA needs to be careful of any devils in future deals