Cricket Australia is looking for a new sponsor, and the search will "probably involve a parallel auction for digital media rights including live streaming of games," according to Simon Canning of THE AUSTRALIAN. The "value of the new sponsorship deal could easily eclipse" $40M over a three-year term with property coming on to the open market for the first time in more than a decade. CA GM of Cricket Marketing Services and head of the sponsor search Michael McKenna said that "sponsorship terms had grown from just branding to digital media rights," including live streaming of games and apps such as the Viewers Verdict audience voting system. Far from just paying for the rights to brand the team, the Test series and possibly the digital content, "the sport also needs a major partner that will match the value of the deal with its own marketing budget." McKenna noted that cricket "relied on the halo effect of such advertising to help promote the sport." McKenna: "We are looking also for a sponsor that has a budget big enough to leverage the sponsorship" (THE AUSTRALIAN, 7/2).
