(Reuters) – Nine Entertainment Co Holdings has lost Cricket Australia’s broadcast rights to rival Seven West Media and pay television firm Foxtel.
Seven West, which saw it stock jump 7 percent on the news, said it in a statement that contracts were being finalised and a full announcement was expected later on Friday.
Cricket Australia negotiated the deal in the aftermath of a ball-tampering scandal that rocked the national men’s team. It is expected to receive about A$1 billion ($775 million) over six years as part of the deal, according to a report by The Australian.
A Cricket Australia spokesman declined to comment.
Nine Entertainment, which has long held the broadcast rights, confirmed it had not been given the rights for the summer of 2018/2019, adding that it could not yet assess the impact of the contract’s loss. Its shares fell as much as 4.4 percent.
Foxtel is jointly owned by News Corp and Australia’s Telstra Corp.
