Disney close to deal for Aussie cricket rights in India

A broadcast deal worth more than A$250M ($173M) is in the final stages of being cut between Cricket Australia and Disney Star, after the network outbid Sony for “the chance to beam Australian summers into India.” Sources close to Cricket Australia and the broadcaster confirmed the formal agreement, set to be for seven years, was imminent and may be concluded by the end of this week. The deal will cover both TV and digital rights. Disney Star’s "return to ownership of the Australian broadcast rights" came despite Sony being "widely expected" to extend the deal it signed with Cricket Australia in 2017 -- a bargain that had turned out to be worth A$40M ($27.7M) less than the governing body originally anticipated. After the Australian rights, those for "India’s vast and ravenous market" for cricket are the next most vital for Cricket Australia. In 2017, CA signed a six-year deal then estimated to be worth around A$150M with Sony (THE AGE, 7/20).