PSL set for biggest commercial deal in Pakistan Cricket history

ISLAMABAD: The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) is close to finishing its biggest commercial deal, which will become the most valuable in Pakistani cricket history through a four-year media rights contract for Pakistan Super League (PSL), which has an estimated value of Rs18 billion.

A PSL franchise owner is preparing to make a record-breaking bid which will reach Rs4.5 billion per year for the league’s broadcast rights, according to sources.

The four-year contract, which will be signed, sees its total value reach Rs18 billion, thus becoming the largest agreement in Pakistan cricket history.

The PCB issued a PSL media rights tender to receive bids for both television broadcasting and live streaming for the upcoming four-year period.

Two major sports channels showed interest in participating in the bidding process, but both parties faced disqualification because they had not completed their payment obligations. One channel reportedly owes around Rs4.7 billion while the other has liabilities exceeding Rs600 million.

The board issued disqualification notices after neither side met their payment obligations despite receiving additional time for payment completion. The franchise-owned company will control the whole process because consortium bids are forbidden this time to stop broadcasters from working together.

The company plans to broadcast its content through the state broadcaster if it secures the rights. Estimates indicate that the broadcast rights reserve price will reach Rs18 billion, although the official figure remains undisclosed.

The live streaming rights alone are expected to generate between PKR 6 billion and PKR 7 billion, with the reserve price estimated at approximately PKR 6 billion.