Cricket Australia’s main media partner, Nine Entertainment Co., will "push hard to strike a rich new broadcasting deal" for all forms of the game "as soon as possible," in the face of plans by cricket’s governing body to delay the process until next year "amid the ongoing players’ dispute," according to Nick Tabakoff of THE AUSTRALIAN. Nine Network Head of Sport Tom Malone said, "We've made no secret of the fact that we're keen to acquire the rights to all forms of cricket, and we'd like to do that as soon as possible." Malone indicated that his "desire to seal a deal quickly would not be affected by the bitter rancour" between CA and the Australian Cricketers' Association in their ongoing pay dispute. He believes a resolution in the dispute "will be achieved sooner rather than later." Malone said, "We have every confidence that Cricket Australia and the players will reach agreement soon, and we’re keen to progress our discussions around the next rights deal." The governing body’s plans to delay the talks process have "come amid predictions" it could net about A$200M ($153M) less in its next five-year deal than it had "originally hoped for" (THE AUSTRALIAN, 7/12).
