PCB's International media rights goals fall short of expectations

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The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has once again encountered disappointment in its pursuit of international media rights. 

The board's expectations were not met, as the latest bid received for the sale of these rights amounted to only half of the value of the previously canceled bid.

According to the details, the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) set an exorbitant reserve price of around 21 million dollars for the three-year international media rights, but no one could match it.

A Pakistani media group and a private company joined forces as a consortium to bid, while foreign companies Willow and Sports Five also took part in the bidding. Among them, Sports Five made the highest bid of $7.8 million.

The Pakistani company bid approximately $4.1 million, while Willow bid $2.25 million. Since the reserve price wasn't met, the board proposed raising the price to the bidders, prompting another round of bidding.

In the second round, Sports Five maintained their previous offer of $7.8 million, while the Pakistani company nearly doubled their offer to $7.85 million. However, the PCB once again rejected the bids as they didn't meet the reserve price.

Subsequently, there was a new tender specifically for the home Series against New Zealand and the women's Series against West Indies. During this process, both Pakistani companies collectively bid $99,000 (roughly 27.6 million Pakistani rupees), Willow bid $75,000, and Sports Five bid $50,000.

Recently, the PCB has initiated an attempt to sell international media rights for a three-year period from 2024 to 2026. During this time, the Pakistan team will play 61 matches, including 11 Tests, 26 ODIs, and 24 T20Is.

The PCB's expectations were once again not met in the sale of international media rights. This time, the offer was even half of the previously canceled bid. Even a former ICC official could not work wonders. A joint bid from a Pakistani media group and a private company was around three and a half to four million dollars.

Thus, the PCB received an offer 50% lower than the rejected previous bid. The process will be canceled once again, and other available options will be pursued.