Channel Nine retains broadcast rights

Channel Nine has retained the rights to broadcast Australia's home international matches after agreeing to a deal worth $500 million over five years.

Nine saw off a bold bid from Channel Ten to claim the rights to Test, ODI and Twenty20 international cricket but Ten is believed to have secured a deal worth approximately $20 million a year to broadcast the Big Bash League, which will appear on free-to-air television for the first time.

Ten had made a significant play for the full cricket schedule but Nine had the right to match the bid, although that was complicated by its reluctance to sign up for the BBL.

However, in order to keep international cricket on Nine, where it has been broadcast for more than 30 years, Nine was forced to more than double the amount it paid per year over the previous seven-year deal.

The expiring deal had cost Nine $45 million per year; the new five-year agreement will cost $100 million a year for Test, ODI and Twenty20 international cricket, as well as approximately $10 million a year in free advertising.

The two deals will provide a major windfall for Cricket Australia, which will earn about $120 million a season in broadcast rights, nearly three times what it received under the previous arrangement.