Good morning!
A couple of months ago, I wrote about cricket’s long-term existential threat; the monopolisation of TV rights in India, & the ruthless exec leading that monopoly.
Uday Shankar’s reign at Jio has been pock marked with shots at cricket’s overvalued media rights, as he was looking for any excuse to extricate his company from their $3.1 billion deal to cover the ICC’s many tournaments.
However, even I predicted it would take years for the threat to evolve into an actual problem. I thought the worst case scenario was a slight haircut on the next ICC deal (starting in 2027), with a bigger drop-off expected in 2031-2 when Jay Shah – and his political links to Jio – had moved on from the ICC.
But, the Mustafissure saga has accelerated this timeline – as Venkat Ananth reports today, not only is Jio going to use the PAK boycott to drastically renegotiate their position, they’re even threatening to sue the ICC for breach of contract.
Why can they do this? Because during the 2007 ODI World Cup, an abysmal showing by Pakistan meant that broadcasters didn’t get an IND-PAK game. Then the 2008 Mumbai attacks happened, and even the rare IND-PAK bilateral series was cancelled. And so, the ICC promised their broadcasters an IND-PAK game at every World Cup (creating these pointless little first round groups we currently have).
That’s an actual legal promise. Not just a handshake under the table. Which opens the ICC up to the legitimate threat of a lawsuit if there’s no India-Pakistan game at this World Cup (though, I have absolutely no idea which court has jurisdiction. Dubai? England? India?).
This is kind of the brilliance of this Pakistani move. You can threaten them with a global boycott, you can threaten to kill the PSL by refusing NOCs – but their leverage is just so much bigger. Stand up to the BCCI, or we kill the sport.
And so, this leaves the ICC in an incredible bind – which is only complicated by the second Indian who was appointed to a top position to much less coverage; Sanjog Gupta. Gupta is the new CEO of the ICC (coming in post-Shah) and used to be the head of Disney Star Sports – i.e. the now defunct media house that drastically ramped up the media rights prices in the first place.
The ICC is led by a political appointee that is the son of India’s Home Minister, & the former TV exec who brokered the media rights deal that has caused such a big headache for global cricket.
The Indian and Pakistani governments will never bow down to each other (the PAK PM made a statement about it today), while the current media rights holders are threatening to sue unless the ICC finds a way to make IND and PAK reconcile.
So, now what?
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🏏 Cricket Roundup: Kishan’s explosiveness, Nabi’s myriad of semi-pro opponents, & how UAE found cricket.
🗞️ Quick News: Jio could sue the ICC, abysmal WC fan experience, & Baz wants everyone to stop saying mean things about ENG.
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Venkat Ananth reports on the ICC’s repercussions from PAK’s boycott of IND; a drastically re-negotiated media rights deal, and maybe even a lawsuit for breach of contract by Jio.
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PM Shehbaz Sharif reiterates that PAK won’t play IND. He needs a better PR person though – while you know what he’s saying, his statement is also hilariously ironic; the Pakistani government won’t allow PAK to play IND as long as the Indian government continue to interfere in cricket!
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Swaroop Swaminathan reports on the abysmal fan experience in the buildup to the World Cup. On a not unrelated note, The Grumbler has an interesting survey of their own readers about their fandom regarding the multitude of Men’s competitions in England scheduled for this summer.
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Brendon McCullum is sick of talking about ENG’s lack of leadership at the Ashes and in their T20 team after talking about it…*checks notes*…zero times.
📺 A/V: Anderson on the WC, the Aussies playing for ITA, & Sarah Taylor’s journey as coach.
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“Pakistan’s Boycott & India’s World Cup Hopes”
📽️ Stick to Cricket host Jimmy Anderson to talk about the Mustafissure saga, as well as preview the World Cup. [YouTube] -
“Forza Azzurri!”
📽️ Sam Perry & Ian Higgins talk to two sets of Aussie brothers playing for the Italians at this World Cup about switching their allegiances. [YouTube] -
“Taylor made mentor”
🎤 Firdose Moonda & Valkerie Baynes talk to Sarah Taylor about being the rare female coach that has worked in both Men’s and Women’s cricket, as well as her most recent stint with GG in the WPL. [Apple/Spotify]
That’s it for today!
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