Today the broadcaster dropped a bombshell, in contrast to media reports over the past few weeks that Paramount had placed a $1.5 billion bid for cricket rights.
In a statement released shortly after Cricket Australia announced that Seven and Foxtel would remain cricket partners for the next seven years, a Paramount ANZ spokesperson said: “Paramount has not made a formal bid and has not actively pursued the rights in recent weeks.”
A Paramount spokesperson continued: Objectives and views on the future presentation of the sport and its value were not aligned.
“We are the only Australian media company with a suite of distribution platforms spanning free-to-air, free and paid streaming services and access to a global content pipeline that offers unmatched flexibility and reach. business decisions.
“Paramount congratulates the Consortium on their success and wishes them and Cricket Australia well in the future.”
Paramount is believed to have shown some interest, but had not held talks with Cricket Australia since early December when it became clear that the FTA and subscription rights could not be obtained.
There is unconfirmed speculation that at some stage in negotiations, both Cricket Australia and Foxtel were happy with Paramount’s 10 as FTA-only partners.
Paramount is believed to see little financial incentive to acquire FTA-only rights given the global shift from FTA viewing to subscription platforms. It is believed that 10 may not have been able to turn a profit, even after considering the halo effect of being an FTA cricket broadcaster.
As for Paramount+, the platform has announced a December half-price subscription offer, the arrival of the biggest movie of the year, top gun maverickand the second release yellowstone spin off, 1923starring box office giants Harrison Ford and Helen Mirren.
