All "eyes are on the second Ashes Test in Adelaide," but behind the scenes "another battle is about to begin" -- the A$1B fight for the right to broadcast cricket in Australia from '18-22, according to Jennifer Duke of the SYDNEY MORNING HERALD. The combatants are "some of Australia's biggest media companies as well as social media giants such as Google and Facebook," which want to upset the "once-straightforward relationship" between the major sporting bodies and commercial free-to-air TV. The last deal was struck in '13 when Nine Entertainment and Ten Network Holdings "took out the major rights." But the upcoming negotiations "promise to be a far more complicated snapshot of the Australian media landscape." This time, a "multitude of companies" ranging from telecom Telstra to Qatari pay-TV group beIN Sports to Amazon are "expected to have a look at the country's most popular summer sport." A director of a major commercial network said, "It's game on for cricket. There is plenty of posturing already." Industry sources said that media companies are "particularly interested in the advertiser-friendly Big Bash League," currently in the hands of Ten, with the rights "likely to go for triple what was paid five years ago." Cricket Australia CEO James Sutherland can "expect a bumper deal." He secured a deal worth A$120M a year in '13. His goal of securing an increase of at least 50% is "ambitious but certainly not impossible." At CA's annual general meeting in October, Sutherland "directly referenced a potential jump" in the value of the rights, pointing to the Indian Premier League's A$3.2B ($2.4B), five-year deal. Sutherland: "We believe there is significant interest in cricket's rights. Ultimately, the market will decide the value of our rights but we do know the media landscape is changing all the time" (SMH, 12/2).