PTV Wins Pakistan Cricket TV Rights for Rs. 350 Million
PTV, the only bidder, got TV rights for 25 Pakistan home matches for Rs. 350 million, far below PCB's price.
State broadcaster PTV has won the TV rights to show Pakistan's home cricket matches for Rs. 350 million. It was the only company that placed a bid. The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) had set a minimum price, known as the reserve price, of Rs. 600 million. This means the board has accepted Rs. 250 million less than it wanted.
The deal covers 25 international matches that Pakistan will host from this month until March 2027. These include five Tests, 14 ODIs and six T20Is. On average, the board will get about Rs. 14 million for each match, a very small amount for international cricket.
Why Private Broadcasters Stayed Away
The PCB invited bids for these rights a few days ago. Three big private broadcasters still owe the board large sums from older deals. They were not stopped from bidding, but none of them took part. A company that has bought most of Pakistan cricket's rights in the past also showed no interest this time.
Unpaid money has been a problem for the board all year. In May, the PCB sent notices to several partners, including PSL franchises and broadcast companies, warning that their contracts could be cancelled if they did not pay. Reports at the time said the biggest defaulter, a company that held both PSL and international cricket rights, owed around Rs. 4.5 billion. Two TV channels were also kept out of the PSL media rights bidding because of unpaid dues.
The PCB also did not allow companies to join together and make one combined bid, which is called a consortium. The same rule already applies to the Pakistan Super League. In the past, such joint bids were common. A few years ago, PTV and ARY won the PSL rights for two seasons as a joint bid.
Poor Results and Low Interest Hurt the Price
The team's poor form is another big reason. Last month Pakistan lost a Test series 3-0 in England, and the head coach and bowling coach were sacked during the tour. In May, Pakistan lost both Tests in Bangladesh. The team also failed to reach the semi-finals of the T20 World Cup earlier this year.
Matches against Sri Lanka and Ireland also draw fewer viewers and advertisers than games against bigger teams. This limited public interest was one of the reasons given for the weak response to the tender. England are part of only one series in the package, the October tri-series.
PTV is not new to this role. In 2020, the PCB signed a three-year deal with PTV Sports to show all home international and domestic cricket, without any open bidding. The board said then it expected to earn more than 200 million US dollars over three years. That package was much bigger and was based on sharing income, so the two figures cannot be compared directly. Still, this year's sale shows how weak the demand for Pakistan's home cricket has become.
Which Matches Are Covered
The busy home season starts this week. Sri Lanka arrived in Pakistan on October 4, and England will join later for the tri-series. The full list of matches in the package is below.
Series | Dates | Venues |
|---|---|---|
Three T20Is against Sri Lanka | October 9 to 13, 2026 | Rawalpindi |
Seven-match ODI tri-series with Sri Lanka and England | October 18 to 31, 2026 | Rawalpindi and Lahore |
Two Tests against Sri Lanka | November 9 to 13 and November 17 to 21, 2026 | Rawalpindi and Lahore |
Three T20Is against Ireland | January 2027 | To be announced |
Seven-match ODI tri-series with Ireland and Zimbabwe | January 2027 | To be announced |
One-off Test against Ireland | February 2027 | To be announced |
Two Tests against New Zealand | February and March 2027 | To be announced |
The October tri-series final will be played at Gaddafi Stadium, Lahore, on October 31. The two Tests against Sri Lanka are part of the ICC World Test Championship.
Doubts Over the January Tri-Series
Part of this package may not happen at all. Reports say Zimbabwe has pulled out of the January tri-series for commercial reasons. Cricket Ireland has said it is working with the PCB on a new schedule for its tour. Pakistan and Ireland may now play a normal two-team ODI series instead, and the one-off Test against Ireland is also likely to be dropped.
The PCB has not officially confirmed either change. If both go ahead, up to eight of the 25 matches in the deal, seven ODIs and one Test, could be changed or cancelled. It is not yet clear how the contract with PTV will deal with this.
For fans, the good news is that the matches will be shown on PTV Sports, which is widely available on cable across Pakistan. For the PCB, the deal brings in far less money than it hoped, at a time when it is already struggling to recover old dues. The board wants Pakistan to play more ODIs before the 2027 World Cup in South Africa, Zimbabwe and Namibia, but this sale shows that selling those matches will not be easy unless the team's results improve.