CRICKET Australia (CA), yesterday, stated that it was astonished to find out that Channel Seven had commenced legal proceedings against the body.

Channel 7, the holder of the broadcast rights for cricket in Australia, has launched action in the Federal Court seeking to end its TV rights deal with CA. It is only a continuation of a long-standing dispute between the network and the cricket board.

The Daily Telegraph reported that the network has filed court proceedings against CA, citing ‘repeated breaches of its six-year media rights contract’.

“Cricket Australia (CA) is aware of reports that our broadcast partner, the Seven Network, has commenced legal proceedings against CA in relation to recent COVID-impacted cricket seasons,” CA said in a statement.

“CA delivered two very successful cricket seasons in 2020-21 and 2021-22, including every WBBL and BBL game (a total of 240 games over two seasons) and highly acclaimed international schedules, despite the enormous challenges presented by the global pandemic.

“In the circumstances, CA is astonished that Seven has brought this unwarranted action which will be strenuously defended.”

According to Roar, CA had offered Channel 7 only a A$15M discount – split over four years – when the network had requested for a A$70M discount on its A$82M annual deal at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, despite a full BBL competition and Test series against India.

However, an independent arbitrator later found out that the network was eligible for only A$5M discount, which later rose to A$8.3M following the cancellation of the Afghanistan series. (Cricbuzz)