after the weekend's rating for the perth ODI, cricket australia may find out the hard way how not to do a tv deal ... can't put content that rates 1m plus on FTA behind a pay wall.
NRL just needs to stay consistent and hopefully tick a little higher over the course of the next 4 years and the next tv deal will see FOX run back to it.
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https://www.smh.com.au/entertainmen...akes-massive-ratings-hit-20181105-p50e2r.html
Cricket Australia's $1.2 billion move to Foxtel has, much like the Australian team's performance against South Africa, debuted with a whimper.
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Sunday's coverage of the first One Day International (ODI) in Perth between Australia and South Africa on Foxtel's new Fox Cricket channel attracted an average audience of just 205,000 viewers across the five major cities.
To put that in perspective, Foxtel scored higher ratings in recent weeks with its coverage of Gold Coast Supercars (212,000 viewers) and an NRL test between Australia and Tonga (231,000 viewers).
The figures represent an almost fourfold drop when contrasted with last season's ODI in Perth between Australia and England on Nine – the fifth game in a series England had wrapped up early – which attracted an average audience of 956,000 viewers for the free-to-air network.
For a further comparison, the last time South Africa toured Australia for an ODI was in November 2014, with the opening game, at the time also played in Perth, attracting just over one million viewers for Nine.
shifted from Nine to Foxtel and Seven, following a six-year, $1.2 billion broadcast deal announced last November. Foxtel reportedly paid $750 million ($125 million per year) to exclusively broadcast ODIs and T20s, and to simulcast tests, Big Bash League matches (including 16 exclusive matches) and women's cricket, and secure streaming rights.
The pay TV giant touted its cricket debut with a new 24-hour cricket channel, Fox Cricket, a commentary team headed by Adam Gilchrist and Shane Warne, and the promise of matches broadcast ad-free and in 4k for the first time.
But viewers have so far baulked at the cost of getting access to the channel, which requires a $25 basic entertainment pack to be purchased before a sports package can be added for a further $29.
On Sunday, while some disgruntled cricket fans lamented the lack of an ODI match on free-to-air for the first time in over 40 years, those who did foot the bill were more irked by Australia's play than anything in Foxtel's coverage. "Genius putting this display behind a paywall," quipped one viewer.
Foxtel has been contacted for comment.
HA HA
