The SA20 franchise tournament is facing an uncertain financial future amid the threat of fresh competition for funding from Cricket Australia’s Big Bash, which is preparing to sell off stakes in its franchises to private investors later this year.
All six SA20 franchises are owned by Indian Premier League teams, many of whom have expressed interest in buying into the Big Bash ahead of an auction that will be run by the Raine Group, the New York-based bank that raised £520m for English cricket last year by selling stakes in the eight Hundred franchises.
While SA20’s medium-term future is secure as the team owners committed to paying franchise fees for 10 years ahead of the competition’s launch in 2023, the long-term outlook is less clear, as The Hundred and Big Bash are seen as better bets for investors looking for a return.
City AM has also been told that two of Cricket South Africa’s partners, broadcaster SuperSport and Indian businessman Sundar Raman, are considering selling their stakes in the competition.
CSA is the majority stakeholder and licensee of SA20 with 50 per cent, while SuperSport owns 30 per cent and Raman, a former chief operating officer of the IPL, holds the remaining 20 per cent.
Sky miss target
Sky Sports trumpeted record viewing figures up 13 per cent on last year for their coverage of the PDC World Darts Championship earlier this week, but the underlying numbers suggest that the sport’s extraordinary recent growth may have plateaued.
A peak audience of 2.5m watched Luke Littler’s second successive final victory over Gian van Veen on Saturday night, a significant drop from the 3.1m who tuned in for his first win against Michael van Gerwen 12 months ago, and way down from the peak audience of 3.7m who watched the teenager’s defeat to Luke Humphries two years ago.
While Sky’s overall audience for the World Championship has increased, that growth is attributable to the tournament expanding by 32 matches and taking place over four extra days this year, an increase from 95 to 127 matches overall, or an uplift of over 30 per cent.
There is no doubting the sport’s long-term growth trajectory however, with Sky reporting a 100 per cent increase in viewing figures since the 2022-23 World Championship, the last tournament not to feature Littler.
Tennis slams split
The four tennis Grand Slams appear increasingly divided ahead of the first tournament of the year, the Australian Open, which begins in Melbourne on 18 January.
Tennis Australia has reached an agreement to settle a legal claim by the Professional Tennis Players’ Association, which last year filed a lawsuit in the New York District Court against the Slams and the ATP and WTA Tours, accusing them of “anti-competitive practices and a blatant disregard for player welfare”.
A letter filed to the court before Christmas revealed that the PTPA and Tennis Australia “are working together to memorialize the terms” of a settlement, while on the same day the organisers of Wimbledon and the French and US Opens filed a new joint motion to dismiss the claim.
In an intriguing subplot however, Tennis Australia chief executive Craig Tiley is in advanced talks to take up the same position at the US Tennis Association in an appointment to be confirmed after the Australian Open, raising the prospect that the USTA could ultimately change its position.
In an unrelated development, Novak Djokovic this week announced he is cutting ties with the PTPA, a new players’ union he formed with the now-retired Canadian player Vasek Pospisil five years ago, citing concerns over its values and governance.
ECB alone at the crease
The England and Wales Cricket Board is in the dark over the venue for England’s T20 World Cup group game against Bangladesh next month after their opponents announced they would not travel to India for the tournament, which is being co-hosted with Sri Lanka, where Pakistan are playing their matches.
Political tensions between Bangladesh and India have also intensified recently and the diplomatic ill-feeling has begun to affect cricket, with the Board of Control for Cricket in India instructing IPL franchise Kolkata Knight Riders to release Bangladesh spin bowler Mustafizur Rahman.
The Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) has written to the International Cricket Council (ICC) to request that the team’s T20 World Cup matches be played outside India, but has yet to receive a response, while the ECB’s queries to the ICC have also gone unanswered.
England are due to meet Bangladesh in Kolkata on 14 February, with West Indies, Nepal and Italy their other opponents in Group C.
TNT ready for bumper FA Cup round
TNT Sports will broadcast a record 22 FA Cup third-round ties live this weekend at the start of their four-year deal as the competition’s new rights holder.
All games falling outside the Saturday afternoon blackout will be shown live on TNT Sports channels or streamed on Discovery+, while there will also be a special edition of TNT’s Goals Show on Saturday showing goals and near-live clips from the 3pm kick-offs, which is permitted under the terms of Uefa’s Article 48 rule as there are no Premier League or Championship matches taking place.
As part of its new deal, TNT has sublicensed two games from each round to the BBC, which has opted to show Macclesfield v Crystal Palace and Tottenham v Aston Villa on Saturday.