Foxtel lands international cricket extension as boss pours cold water on Amazon deal

Foxtel boss Patrick Delany has played down the impact of Amazon’s ICC broadcasting rights deal as his company announced its own multiyear contract extensions with the South African, English and Indian cricket boards.

Amazon shook up the world of cricket broadcasting earlier this week with a blockbuster deal to show the next four years of World Cup, World Test Championship final and Champions Trophy action behind a paywall on its Prime Video service, but Delany said it was not the shift in broadcasting market dynamics it had been made out to be.

Foxtel boss Patrick Delany, pictured with Australian captain Pat Cummins, played down the implications of Amazon’s cricket deal.Credit: Brook Mitchell

“I don’t think Amazon buying some ICC games, which are largely World Cups that are played offshore, is some sort of big change in the market,” Delany said.

“There is not a lot of content that’s relevant to Australia in terms of time zone, time of the year and countries that it’s being played in,” Delany said about the next two World Cup cycles, adding Australia’s recent triumph in India aired at suitable times for local fans.

Foxtel announced its extensions on Friday, under which all international Test, One Day International and T20 cricket tours played across South Africa, England and India – barring the Ashes – will be broadcast across Foxtel and its streaming service, Kayo, extending a decade-long partnership.

The Ashes are excluded due to its status on the federal anti-siphoning list, which protects certain events with major cultural significance from being taken behind a paywall. Nine, the owner of this masthead, recently secured a deal to broadcast the next two Ashes tours in England in 2027 and 2031.

Foxtel, alongside the Seven Network, will broadcast series held on Australian soil until 2031 in a deal extended earlier this year.

At the end of November, the Albanese government introduced legislation into Parliament updating the anti-siphoning list to include online services. Under the legislation, free-to-air broadcasters are given priority to secure the broadcast rights to show events on the list.

The content included in Amazon’s rights deal with the ICC is not included on the list, which protects World Cup matches involving Australia, but only if they are played in either Australia or New Zealand.

The next World Cup, where Australia will attempt to defend its recent win, will be jointly hosted by Namibia, Zimbabwe and South Africa in 2027. Australia and New Zealand will host the T20 World Cup in 2028, which is not included in Amazon’s deal.

“It didn’t go our way,” Delany says on the proposed updates to the anit-siphoning legislation. “We think free is free, and if an operator is willing to provide Australian iconic sport to Australians for free, and the internet can do that, then we think that should have been enough.

“We were disappointed that we didn’t move into the 21st century with it.”

Rebecca McCloy, Foxtel Group’s executive director of commercial sport, said the deal bolsters Foxtel’s offering for cricket fans for years to come.

“Alongside our comprehensive rights to domestic cricket, which we have until 2031, this announcement is great news for our millions of subscribers who can continue to enjoy the most extensive coverage of cricket in Australia and around the world.”

Foxtel also broadcasts all New Zealand cricket matches, the Indian Premier League and men’s and women’s Big Bash League matches.

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