The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has encountered another challenge in securing international media rights. In the latest bidding round for these rights, the offers received amounted to only half of the value of a previously cancelled bid.
The PCB had set a reserve price of around $21 million for the three-year international media rights, but no bids reached this figure. The bidding involved a consortium of a Pakistani media group and a private company, as well as foreign entities Willow and Sports Five.
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Sports Five submitted the highest bid at $7.8 million, followed by the Pakistani consortium with a bid of approximately $4.1 million and Willow at $2.25 million. As these bids fell short of the reserve price, the PCB called for a second round of bidding. The Pakistani consortium increased its bid to $7.85 million, but this too was rejected as it did not meet the reserve price.
Subsequently, a new tender was issued for media rights related to the home series against New Zealand and the women’s series against the West Indies. In this round, the Pakistani consortium bid $99,000 (around Rs 27.6 million), Willow bid $75,000, and Sports Five offered $50,000.
The PCB has recently launched another attempt to sell international media rights for the 2024-2026 period, during which the Pakistan team is set to play 61 matches, including 11 Tests, 26 ODIs, and 24 T20Is. However, the highest bid received in this latest round still amounted to only half of the previously rejected offer.
