Islamabad, JULY27: The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has experienced yet another setback in its attempts to sell the rights to overseas media, as bids have fallen well short of expectations.For a three-year contract encompassing foreign media rights, the Apex Cricket Board had established a reserve price of $21 million, but none of the bidders were willing to meet this sum.
Furthermore, during the bidding battle, the local and international corporations’ bid prices were half of the estimated valuation of $21 million.In addition to international companies Willow and Sports Five, a consortium made up of a private corporation and a Pakistani media conglomerate also took part in the bidding process.With an opening bid of $7.8 million, Sports Five placed the biggest amount, followed by Willow’s $2.25 million and the Pakistani consortium’s $4.1 million.
A second round of bids was solicited by the PCB because the reserve price was not reached. Sports Five kept their $7.8 million bid in this round, and the Pakistani consortium upped theirs to $7.85 million. The PCB rejected these bids since they were still below the reserve price, even with the increase.
A new tender was then released for a particular series versus the women’s West Indies team and New Zealand. Willow placed a $75,000 bid, Sports Five a $50,000 bid, and the Pakistani consortium made an approximate $99,000 bid.
The Pakistani team is slated to play 61 matches in 2024–2026 11 Tests, 26 ODIs, and 24 T20Is during which the PCB recently made an attempt to sell international media rights. Once more, the amount of bids received was just half of what was originally canceled. The PCB decided to halt the procedure and look at other options as a result.
